I Know Places
by HeadGirl91
Summary: Bridget Benson: Mutant, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, answers to her Superior Officer: Agent Coulson. Coulson threatens to shoot her within three days of working together. It's the start of an beautiful partnership. Canon compliant for MCU. Steve/OFC Clint/Coulson Tony/Pepper
1. Just a Game

_Following my long awaited graduation from University, I finally get to get back into writing! Yay! And here is my latest foray, and first non-Harry Potter piece. It is a X-Men/Marvel Cinematic Universe crossover that takes place in the new Universe following X-Men: Days of Future Past. It is Canon-compliant with the MCU as much as I can get it, but may become non-compliant with future releases, such as X-Men: Apocolypse, as I cannot see into the future to incorporate it into my story now._

_The main pairing will be Steve Rogers (Captain America)/OFC, but there will be other side pairings, both het and slash. The pairing, obviously will not happen for a few chapters, but be patient and enjoy my stumblings into character creation and development. Thanks!_

_First chapter is rather short, others will be longer. Hopefully not too long between updates until I'm caught up with where the MCU films are now. I already have chapters 6-10 (events of post-Captain America through The Avengers) mostly written, it's just writing the bits before that now!_

_Title comes from the Taylor Swift song of the same name._

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><p><strong><span>I Know Places<span>  
>by HeadGirl91<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

**Just A Game**

I never thought I was different. I mean, my friends and I would play the game when I was in elementary school. If you were a mutant, what power do you think you'd have? As children will do, our answers changed practically every time. I can't even remember half of my answers. I didn't take it too seriously. I knew it was just a game. Until it wasn't.

I was eleven years old. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon in June and my parents were driving me back from a gymnastics meet in Albany, New York. It was only a little over an hour's drive from our home, where my mom was one of only two dentists in the small town and my dad was the best electrician, he told me. I held a small trophy in my hands, clutching at it like I was afraid that it would disappear if I let it go. The small plaque read:

_Bridget Olivia Benson_

_1__st__ Place_

_Floor Exercises_

Floor was where I excelled in gymnastics. I wasn't overly keen on heights, a strange trait in a gymnast, I knew. I was determined to overcome my fear and kept practicing on the beam and bars whenever I could, but I wasn't yet confident to compete in them, preferring floor and vault. I had placed fifth in vault that day, as well.

"Mom..." I wheedled from the back seat. "Can we go out for ice cream?"

Mom glanced at me quickly in the mirror before turning her eyes back to the road.

"We have ice cream at home," she replied.

I groaned. "But only vanilla. I feel like banana fudge."

"That must be weird," Dad quipped. "Feeling like banana fudge."

I rolled my eyes. "That's such a dad joke."

Dad grinned. Mom sighed. "We have bananas and fudge sauce in the cupboard. What do you say we make it a banana split? Will that curb your banana fudge craving?"

"Yeah," I grinned. "Thanks!"

People were always shocked by the fact that my mom, the dentist, let me eat sweets. She always said, though, that as long as I brushed and flossed, and didn't go over the top with them, that it would be okay.

Suddenly, Dad yelled, "Look out!"

Mum swerved, there was the sound of metal scraping against metal, bright, blue lights, and all went dark.

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><p>The first thing I saw when I woke up was white. Everything was white. It nearly blinded me. All the white.<p>

I felt movement beside me and turned my head. I immediately wished I hadn't when pain shot through my head.

"Ow." Tears came to my eyes. I didn't know where I was, what was going on.

"Bridget?" The woman who had moved beside me, catching my attention, now leaned over me, concernedly. She was pretty, with shoulder length red hair. "Bridget, I'm Dr. Grey. You're in the hospital. Do you remember what happened?"

I frowned, which hurt, so I stopped that. Did I remember? Remember what?

Then it all came back to me. The car. The scraping of metal on metal. The bright lights. The dark.

Mom and Dad.

Tears came to my eyes and I blinked to clear my vision. "My..." My throat constricted. "My mom and dad... are they..?"

Dr. Grey shook her head softly. "I'm sorry, Bridget."

I cried. I cried hard and I didn't care how much it hurt because the pain I was feeling in my heart was so much worse.

It took me a while to calm down, but once I had, Dr. Grey told me what had happened. Another driver had taken a corner too fast and swerved, unable to take control fast enough, and hit our car head-on. According to eyewitnesses, a bright blue dome of light had sprung up around me as soon as the car hit, seemingly protecting me from the damage that killed my parents almost instantly.

"Are you saying..?" I asked, a sob catching in my throat.

"Yes," Dr. Grey confirmed. "You seem to have a mutation and we would like to offer you a place at our school so that you can learn to control..."

I didn't hear much more. Everything was white noise.

_Mutant._

But it was just a game...

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><p>Dr. Grey accompanied me to my parents' funeral. My mom's partner, Dr. Gregory, patted my head awkwardly and gave me some empty words about how she would be missed. My dad's soccer team presented me with his team shirt, which I took with a quiet 'thank you.' Bethany, my mom's receptionist and friend bent down and pulled me into a hug.<p>

"Are you going to be okay, Bridgy?" she asked, tucking a curl behind my ear. I nodded against her.

"Yeah," I murmured, pulling away. "They're taking me to a school in Westchester," I explained, motioning to Dr. Grey, behind me.

"Okay," Bethany said, not entirely convinced. "You have my number and my address if you ever need me, right?" I nodded.

She looked up to Dr. Grey. "Take care of her?" It was more a command than a request. Dr. Grey nodded, sharply.

"Of course."

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><p>Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters was a huge manor house in Westchester, New York. It was to be my home from now on. I was told that there were several 'year-rounders', who had no other home to go to during the holidays, so I wouldn't be alone.<p>

Dr. Grey took me to meet the Principal, who she called the 'Headmaster' – it was that kind of school, I supposed.

He was a bald, wheelchair-bound man who looked to be nearing sixty, at least. I wasn't too good at guessing ages.

He smiled at me.

"Welcome," he said, but he didn't move his lips. I stepped back in alarm. "Don't worry," he said, moving his lips this time. "I was just demonstrating what I could do for you. I am what they call a telepath, Miss Benson. My name is Professor Charles Xavier and it is a pleasure to have you at our school."


	2. Getting In

_Well I lost my job so this is a couple of days late, as I was busy job hunting and going to interviews. I hope you enjoy, though!_

_On another note, if anyone can get me an invite to Archive of our Own, I'd appreciate it! I was sure that I had a login, but I can't remember it or even what email I used!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

**Getting In**

School was great. I mean, I missed my parents. Every day without them felt like someone had ripped out my heart and stomped on it in front of me. But every passing day got a little bit easier. My friends helped.

Darren Wilson and Kate McAshton were the only 'year rounders' my age. Darren had been picked out of the foster system about two weeks before I ended up in Xavier's school and Kate's parents worked for a government agency that required them to be on missions abroad quite a lot, so it was easier for her to stay at school and they took her for a week here, two days there, whenever they could. Because we spent most of that first summer together, we became best friends.

Seven years later, filling out our applications to join S.H.I.E.L.D. – the same government agency Kate's parents worked for – we were still the best of friends and we were looking forward to taking that next step together.

"What if they don't want all of us?" Darren asked, worriedly, his curly, dark brown hair flopping in front of his eyes while he chewed on his pen lid. He voiced the worry that was niggling in the back of my own mind. Darren was tall, thin and wiry. He always looked wound tight, like a jack-in-the-box, ready to spring up at any moment. That was where his mutation came in, I suppose. Darren could jump to amazing heights. He often jumped to the roof of the mansion whenever he wanted time alone. Only Ms Munroe ever found him up there.

"Don't be stupid," Kate replied, furiously scribbling her application. Her mousy brown hair was scraped back in a ponytail, her bangs escaping as she wrote to frame her face. Kate could project illusions and sometimes this helped her look fresh-faced after staying up late or gave the impressions that she had put makeup on, when really she hadn't had the time. She didn't do it too often, though, as she said that it felt dishonest. Plus, she said, if she met any guys, they deserved to know what they would be getting.

"They'll take us all," she continued. "Mom told me that they want to expand the diversity of the department by training more mutant agents, but not a great percentage actually applies. Most mutants just want to lead normal lives once they can control their powers. Like Clarice."

Clarice Ferguson was in our grade. She could open portals for instantaneous travel, but she wanted nothing more than to just live a normal life. I didn't really blame her. Her powers manifested when she was twelve, after an argument with her parents. She walked into her room and ended up in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. It took three weeks to find her and she almost died. Now that she could control her powers, she wanted to forget they existed.

I nodded. "Fingers crossed, though?" I suggested. They nodded and we bent back over our papers.

* * *

><p>We had just gotten out of Professor Summers' Shop class when Professor Xavier's voice rang in my head.<p>

"_Bridget? Could you please bring yourself, Kate and Darren up to my office, please?"_

I stopped in the middle of the hallway, tugging Kate's sleeve to stop the two of them going without me. The Professor often contacted me if he wanted any of the three of us. Darren asked him not to do it as it freaked him out and Kate's parents had trained her to keep out telepaths (a result of their dangerous job) so well she did it unconsciously.

"_We have PE, Professor," _I reminded him silently.

"_I shall inform Logan," _Xavier replied. Logan was the only teacher in the school who refused to be called "Professor" or "Mr." He told everyone gruffly that it was "Logan" or "Wolverine." Most people went with "Logan." Any other name got you running laps of the mansion grounds, which were very large and so not fun.

I told the others that Xavier wanted us and we headed to his office immediately. Anything that got us out of Logan's sadistic PE class was worth it. Last week he instituted "extreme dodgeball" with absolutely no rules, all powers acceptable. I had an unfair advantage, I supposed, but it didn't last for long when the other team focused on me for so hard and so long that I couldn't get to my glucose tablets and actually ended up going into hypoglycaemic shock for the third time that month.

My mutation, we found out, and the reason that I survived the crash that killed my parents, was that I had the ability to form forcefields that shielded me from any harm. Once formed, I could move the field wherever I needed it. I could also form fields around objects and use it to move the object. The main downside to this was that the forcefields took up quite a lot of energy to maintain and my body used all available stores of glucose to keep me going. This caused my sugar levels to drop drastically in a short space of time. My first year in the school, I spent a total of three weeks in hypoglycaemic comas. They were not fun. I took to carrying around several packets of glucose tablets with me at all times and ate every sugary substance I could get my hands on.

Dr. Grey-Summers (she had gotten married to Professor Summers when we were in 10th Grade) admonished me for my poor diet whenever she saw me eating, but despite all the sugar, I remained healthy. I was average height and weight for my age and my mom had drilled enough dental care into me that my teeth were faring very well.

My hair was a different story, however. My hair was short at the moment and I hated it. It had gotten burnt in a training accident when Jubilee, a girl in our grade, missed the bot she was aiming for and accidentally blew up the bench behind me. I reacted instinctively and put up a forcefield, but not quick enough to save my long ponytail, which got four inches singed off the end when I turned my face away from the blast.

After the exercise was over I cried. I was eighteen years old and knew I shouldn't have cried, but I couldn't help myself I knew it was vain and I knew Jubilee felt really bad about it, but my lovely long, auburn hair, which I prided myself on, was ruined. Dr. Grey-Summers took me herself to get it restyled, but my new style, which skimmed my shoulders, just didn't feel like me yet and I couldn't wait to grow it out again.

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><p>There was a man in a suit talking with Professor Xavier when we got to the office. Xavier looked up when we entered and the man turned to face us. He was handsome, with light brown hair and you could see his muscles through his suit. I didn't even know that was possible.<p>

"Good afternoon," the man greeted us, holding out his hand to shake ours in turn. "I am Agent Masters from S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy."

A thrill went through me. I reached for Kate's hand, unseen, behind our backs, as she did the same for mine and we squeezed each others' fingers in excitement.

"I am pleased to inform you that all three of you have been selected to begin training next semester," Agent Masters continued. We all started breathing again. We could barely contain our excitement; we were practically buzzing. "I will warn you, though," he went on, eyes narrowing. "We have exceedingly high standards. Less than fifty percent of our initial intake actually graduate. It is hard work and we expect the very best of you and expect you to expect it of yourselves. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir," I said, nodding. "Thank you, sir."

The others agreed, nodding as well.

"Very well," Agent Masters spoke. "I understand that you all live here fulltime?" He didn't wait for an answer. "So we shall send transport for you in six weeks exactly. We take our secrets very seriously in S.H.I.E.L.D. No summer vacation this year, kids." He nodded to Professor Xavier and walked out, briskly.

The three of us stood silently for a few seconds, before Kate breathed, "We got in."

The next second, we were hugging each other excitedly, babbling incoherently about our plans and our happiness, before Professor Xavier cut in.

"Congratulations," he smiled. "I am very proud of all of you." He turned to Kate. "I believe your parents are home currently?" She nodded. "You may be excused to give them the good news. It is Friday, after all." Kate squealed, excitedly, hugging the Professor before dashing out of the room.

Darren and I laughed at her actions and Xavier had a faint pink blush on his cheeks. He cleared his throat quickly, before turning to us. "I do believe that there are two Professors who have no classes this afternoon and who have been awaiting your news as much as you have."

We smiled brightly. "Thanks, Professor," I told him.

"Yeah, thanks," Darren agreed.

We left the office in search of our parental figures. At the age of eleven, with no parents to guide us, and stuck in a school year-round, Darren and I both became quite close with the member of staff that had brought us into the school. It wasn't intentional, by any means, but it had happened, and we tended to seek the advice and guidance of those individuals more than any other adult in the school.

I dropped Darren off at Ms Munroe's classroom, where I could see through the glass that she was grading papers and set off for the infirmary, where Dr. Grey-Summers spent most of her free time.

Sure enough, she was there when I entered, administering antiseptic and binding a scrape on the leg of a seventh grader. She finished off and gave him a firm warning to "use the stairs next time," before sending him on his way. She turned and saw me.

"I got in," I explained, before she could even question me. She smiled brightly, stepping forward and hugging me.

"Oh, I'm so glad!" she remarked. "Not that I was worried," she amended. "I knew you were going to get in."

I laughed.

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><p>School was out for summer and the time had arrived for the three of us to go for training. We had one suitcase and one bag each, having been informed about what space we could expect to have over the next few years. Professor Xavier had promised to keep the rest of mine and Darren's belongings in storage until we came to collect them.<p>

The promised transport had arrived on the grounds: a sleek quinjet. Agent Masters was standing beside it while we said our goodbyes. The entire staff had collected to wish us well. Dr. Grey-Summers gave me a long hug and told me she's miss me. Professor Summers ruffled my short hair gently and told me to keep out of trouble. Logan clapped my shoulder and spoke gruffly.

"Hit 'em where it hurts, kid."

I grinned. That was his way of saying that he was proud. Logan didn't do emotion very well; it made him uncomfortable.

We finished our goodbyes and followed Agent Masters onto the jet. There were already about ten people around the same age as us strapped into the seats.

"You three are the last pick up for the day. Thirteen newbies," he stated. "Let's hope none of you are superstitious," he grinned. "Because welcome to the hardest four years of your entire lives."


	3. Prove Me Wrong

_Okay, I wrote this straight after the previous chapter. I was on a roll! I just love this fic so much right now._

_I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

**Prove Me Wrong**

We were the youngest recruits. It was slightly daunting. It appeared that most of the recruits came from some sort of military background before applying to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, but that we got in based on our applications, teacher testimonies and video surveillance of our training sessions. It turned out that Xavier's Academy had a highly rated training scheme, on par with some military and special ops training systems.

Our age did not endear us to the rest of the recruits, the youngest of which was twenty-two to out eighteen. By the time we had landed in an unknown location and piled out of the jet, we had probably gotten a filthy look from every single other person on the jet.

Agent Masters barked at us to line up, which we did, leaving our luggage in a pile behind us.

"This is S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy of Operations," he said, gesturing to the group of buildings and the grounds behind him. "This has the most aggressive training program in the United States government and has the ability to turn you into one of the best Specialists and Field Agents in the country." He glanced up and down our line. "However," he paused. "Out of the thirteen of you standing here today, I expect only six of you will make it through to graduation." He stared us down. I could tell that the other recruits were trying not to glance our way at that statement, expecting that we would be the ones not to make it. "Prove me wrong." He emphasised every word in that last sentence.

Prove him wrong? I looked ahead, steeling myself, feeling Darren and Kate doing the same on either side of me.

Oh, we'd prove him wrong. We'd prove them all wrong.

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><p>True to Masters' word, it was hard. Also true to his word, the recruits dropped like flies. We lost one by the end of the first month and another two before the first year was over.<p>

Kate, Darren, and I encouraged each other and kept each other going, even when we were freezing cold, wet, and tired after field training in January snow and when we were burnt, hot, and sweaty under August sun.

We were twenty-one years old and beginning our fourth year of training. There were five other recruits left, apart from the three of us.

Agent Haroldson, our hand-to-hand combat trainer, met us in the gym with a man and a woman I had never met before. Both were dressed in S.H.I.E.L.D. training wear and did not look happy. The man had light brown hair, well muscled arms, and pointed features and the woman was small and lithe, with bright red, shoulder length hair.

"This is Agents Barton and Romanov," Haroldson introduced, motioning first the man and then the woman. "They are two of our top Specialists and will take you for hand-to-hand today. They have orders not to cause irreparable damage, but that is all. I'm leaving you here with them; you are no longer my problem for today." With that, he turned and left the room.

We turned to the two agents expectantly. They looked at each other, seeming to communicate silently, before Romanov turned to us and started barking orders.

"Pair up!" she commanded. "Spar until we stop you."

Darren, Kate and I played 'rock, paper, scissors'. Kate lost and, scowling, went to join one of the other recruits, a woman who used to be an Army Ranger. Darren and I dropped into our beginning stances and jumped straight into it. We knew each other so well that it was like a dance routine. We blocked out everything else and focused solely on each other. After what could have been five minutes, or twenty, I felt a punch coming my way and instinctively blocked it with a forcefield.

Darren wasn't as lucky. Romanov's blow caught him on the side of his head and threw him off balance before he managed to re-gather his attentions. I turned to Barton, who had thrown off his surprise at his strike being blocked and threw another which I managed to dance out of the way of, before returning it with a swift kick to the ribs, which didn't manage to do much more than slightly wind the older agent.

"Nice trick," he remarked.

"Thanks," I replied. I blocked his blows as best as I could, looking for an opening to strike, but the man was good. "So, what did you guys do, anyway?" I got a little too close and he grabbed me, attempting to restrain me, but I elbowed him in the solar plexus and twisted out of his clutches when his grip loosened.

"What-what makes you think we did anything?" Barton asked, breathing hard.

I swept my leg out, attempting to knock his legs out from under him, but he was ready for it. He jumped out of the way swiftly, agilely staying on his feet.

"Top Agents don't get sent to train the cadets unless they're being punished," I explained, I was breathing hard too, by this point. The man was very well trained and had years of experience on me, not to mention a good few stone of muscle more than me. I managed to land a kick to the man's gut and as he involuntarily doubled over, I grabbed his shoulders and sent my knee into his nose. He managed to twist out of my grip, nose bleeding slightly.

"Well," he began, as we circled each other, slowly. "Let's just say that Agent Romanov and I are no longer welcome in the city of Budapest and we'll leave it at that."

His hand shot out so fast that I didn't even see it coming. I felt it hit, though, and my vision went dark for a few seconds before something caught me around the middle, knocking me to the floor. Barton pinned me to the floor, arm to my throat, weight keeping me down.

I slapped my hand on the floor twice, signalling that I was done and he released me, grinning. He got up and lent me a hand, which I took, gratefully.

Everyone else had finished sparring, including Romanov and Darren, who was sporting a bloody lip and the beginnings of a black eye. They had been watching Barton and I finish up.

"Not bad, recruit," Barton told me. "Not many people last that long against me. What's your name?"

"Benson," I replied, massaging my throat where his arm had constricted my airflow.

Barton nodded. "Well, Benson, good luck with your training. You'll need it."

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><p>Masters was right on the money when he told us that there would be six of us graduating the Academy. But, as we were determined we would, Kate, Darren, and I made it through andtoday was going to be our introduction to our Superior Officers.<p>

We knew absolutely nothing about who our SOs would be, only that we would be informed when they arrived.

The six of us sat in chairs lining the corridor, feeling slightly like naughty schoolchildren.

"McAshton?"

Kate looked up. Masters had appeared from nowhere with a bald man with wire-rimmed glasses. "McAshton, this is Agent Sitwell."

Kate jumped up and shook Sitwell's hand. "It's nice to meet you," she told him.

Sitwell inclined his head and motioned for her to follow him as he started walking down the corridor.

One by one the cadets left with their respective SO. Darren got a severe looking woman named Johnson. I was waiting a good twenty minutes after the last of the others left with her SO. I'd begun to think I had been forgotten when I sensed someone approaching.

A non-descript middle aged man wearing a suit and a friendly expression walked up to me.

"Benson?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," I confirmed, standing.

He nodded. "Agent Phil Coulson," the man introduced, offering his hand to shake. "I apologise for my lateness. Director Fury kept me for longer than I intended."

I tried to contain my shock. This agent spoke directly with Director Fury? From what I heard, most agents never even met Director Fury, never mind spoke with him often, as his tone seemed to suggest.

"Ah, Agent Coulson, you made it," Masters spoke behind me, startling me. The man had an uncanny ability to pop up when you least expected it. "Benson, I see you've been introduced to your SO. You're the last, so I shall leave you to it." He nods at us and leaves.

Coulson turned to me. "I'm afraid we're throwing you in at the deep end here, Benson. We're going to be based in New York, but there's no time to settle in. We have a jet to California in the morning. You'll be set up to be sharing an apartment with two of your fellow agents, McAshton and Wilson, who are also based in New York. If I understand, rightly, you would prefer that?" I nod vigorously. I'd be living with Kate and Darren still? I was so happy, I couldn't even express. I went over the rest of Coulson's speech in my head.

"California?" I asked.

Coulson nodded. "You've been watching the news?" he asked. "We're going to see Tony Stark."

I had been watching the news. Tony Stark, billionaire owner of Stark Industries, a major weapons manufacturer had gone missing in Afghanistan months earlier. He had been found in the middle of the desert about a week ago and after some time in hospital was making it home to Malibu tomorrow.

"You have a suit?" Coulson asked. "We have to blend."

I nod. "Yes, sir." Coulson looked like he belonged in his suit. I couldn't imagine him wearing anything else. I imagined he wouldn't look right.

* * *

><p>The apartment was pretty cool. I was the first of the three of us to get there, so I claimed the bedroom that I wanted, which wasn't the biggest but it did have the best view. I noticed that the windows seemed to be made out of bulletproof glass and wondered if that was common practice for all S.H.I.E.L.D. accommodation.<p>

I started to put away the belongings that I had accumulated over my years in training, including photos of the three of us, which I put on the bedside table. I could collect the rest of my belongings from Westchester when I came back from California, I supposed. It would be good to see everyone there again.

My thoughts were interrupted by the front door opening and I ambushed Kate at the door, where we squealed excitedly about the fact that we would be living together. We were soon joined by Darren, who was also excited but refused to join in our squealing.

"So what are you guys doing?" Darren asked. "I'm going to be in HQ for at least a week while my SO finishes paperwork and gathers info."

"Same," replies Kate. They look to me.

"I hope you guys have fun," I tell them, grinning, "While I am in Malibu, meeting Tony Stark."

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><p><em>I got my first review for this fic today! Very exciting! Please give me more! Love you all!<em>


	4. Stark

_This chapter covers the events of Iron Man and as such, draws quite a lot on the film and the Iron Man: Security Measures comic. I am trying to keep this as canon as possible, but I don't really want to take large sections of text from the films/comics because then it wouldn't be mine. So I'm keeping the theme and plot but trying to reword parts. Obviously, if you recognise a bit, I took that from the film because I liked it and kept it. Just warning you that the credit for some of the lines do go to Marvel Studios and the writers of Iron Man. _

_It is quite a long chapter, the longest chapter in a multi-chaptered fic that I've ever done! I'm very impressed!_

_I also intended to give it a week before I posted anything else, but I just couldn't wait! I'm so impatient!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

**Stark**

I met Coulson at S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ very early the next morning. I was issued my ID badge and handed the Stark file.

"I will give you a quick rundown on the situation when we're in the jet," Coulson promised. We were interrupted by an African American man wearing an eye patch.

"Coulson," the man greeted. He looked to me briefly, before flicking his eyes back to Coulson.

"Sir," Coulson greeted. "Stark's plane touches down at Edwards in three hours. Do you want a full debrief?"

The man nodded. "If possible. Don't push too hard. We don't want to ring any alarm bells. I just want to know whose side he's on."

"You really think he turned?" Coulson asked.

The man shrugged. "I think he was in that cave a long time." He turned around. "I don't buy the story about the terrorist's ammo dump just accidentally exploding. Something went down. I need to know if we have a mole running Stark Industries. Going over their financials raised a lot of red flags. Find out whether Stark is heading for white collar prison or the electric chair. I'm trusting you. Both of you." He addressed that last part to me as well. "You came with high recommendations, Agent Benson. Let's see if you deserve them." With that, he turned and left.

I turned to Coulson, questioningly.

He shrugged. "Director Fury has a flair for the dramatics."

* * *

><p>While we were on the jet and I got over the fact that I had just met one of the most powerful men in the country, Coulson filled me in on what had been happening with Tony Stark's kidnapping. Apparently, being as he was the USA's top weapon's contractor, S.H.I.E.L.D. became concerned when he was kidnapped in enemy territory in Afghanistan. They were initially worried because Stark could potentially hand over military secrets to terrorist groups, whether voluntarily or under pressure. When there was no ransom demand, the threat became whether Stark would be forced to build the terrorists weapons that could be used against the United States.<p>

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has been over the Stark Industries financials and things just aren't adding up, logically and numerically. Our job is to debrief Stark and find out exactly what happened to him in that cave. We need to know if he told them anything and if he built them anything."

I nodded. "But we aren't allowed to push too hard? So, what? If he says he doesn't want to talk, we back off a bit?"

Coulson nodded. "For now. If he dodges us more than twice, we'll have to become more insistent."

"Okay," I said, understanding. I went quiet for a moment. "Coulson? What did Director Fury mean I'd come highly recommended?"

Coulson looked over. "You apparently made quite an impression on one of our specialists."

I understood. "Barton? Agent Barton recommended me?" I asked, incredulously.

He nodded. "I haven't had a new agent in over two years, but I trust Agent Barton's judgement. He told me that you have the potential to become one of the best field agents S.H.I.E.L.D. has seen in a while. You're fast, you think on your feet, you're instinctive and you're persistent. Your mutation is just an added bonus, I assure you."

I blinked. "Barton got all that from an hour long hand to hand combat session?"

"Barton's one of the best," Coulson stated. "He knows a like mind when he sees it."

* * *

><p>We got to the press conference with a few moments to spare. Those jets were really something. During S.H.I.E.L.D. ops training, I'd started to get attached to the technology. If I wasn't too careful, I'd become like one of those guys who married their cars.<p>

We spotted Miss Potts, straight away, recognising her from the photo attached to the file I'd been given earlier.

"Miss Potts?" Coulson asked, walking up to her.

"Yes," the woman confirmed.

"May we speak with you a moment?" he asked.

"I'm not part of the press conference," she deferred. "But it is about to start in a moment..."

"We aren't reporters," Coulson replied. "I'm Agent Phil Coulson, this is Agent Bridget Benson. We're with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

Miss Potts raised her eyebrows. "That's quite a mouthful."

"I know," he smiled. "We're working on it."

"We've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA..."

"We're a separate division with a more specific focus," Coulson explained. "We need to debrief Mr Stark on the circumstances of his escape."

Miss Potts nodded. "I'll put something in the book, shall I?" she said, but I could tell she was just humouring us.

"Thank you," Coulson agreed.

Stark then began the press conference by asking everyone to sit so that he wouldn't have to stand, which, for someone who looked as bad as he did, was understandable.

As he talked, I started to frown slightly and, by the time he finished, my eyes widened in shock. I turned to Coulson.

"Did he just..?"

Coulson looked just as shocked. "Miss Potts," he said, turning to her. "Does he..?"

"I'll let Mr Stark's comments speak for themselves," she replied, but she looked shaken, also.

* * *

><p>We made it back to New York by late afternoon. Director Fury was there to greet us. The press conference would have aired by now.<p>

Coulson filled Fury in on what had happened. "I just don't get why. What does Stark gain from this? His stock is going to hit the floor."

Fury hummed in agreement. "What was your take on Miss Potts?" he asked.

"Very smart," Coulson replied. "She could probably run that company herself."

Fury nodded, turning to me. "What was your impression, Agent Benson?"

"Of Miss Potts?" I asked, surprised at being asked. "Loyal. Definitely loyal to Stark, but she did seem as blindsided as everyone else."

"Okay, keep an eye on them," Fury ordered us both. He turned and walked away.

* * *

><p>We submitted a brief report on what had happened that day and went home. Kate and Darren were both there when I got in.<p>

"Bridge!" Darren called. "You're just in time. We were about to call for pizza."

"Pepperoni!" I called over my shoulder as I walked to the bathroom. I needed a shower.

"How was Malibu?" Kate called after me.

"Good! How was the office?" I teased.

The shower felt great after a day on the jet and then in hot and sweaty California.

When I returned to the living room, Kate accosted me again, dragging me down to sit on the couch.

"Seriously," she said. "How was it? How was Coulson? Do you have any idea who he is?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Darren looked over at us from the other couch. "Coulson is Fury's right hand man," he stated. "Your SO is the Director's favourite."

I sighed. "I kinda figured that out when Fury met us before we left this morning."

They both stared at me wide-eyed.

"You _met_ Director Fury?" Kate asked. "I'm not sure whether or not I'm jealous of you right now."

"Don't be," I muttered. "He's rather intimidating."

* * *

><p>A few days later, Coulson and I were given a new assignment.<p>

"Twelve year old pyro mutant, unable to control her powers. She keeps getting more upset and her powers just get more out of control," Coulson explained as we walked to the jet. "She's already burned down three buildings and half a park."

"Poor kid," I murmured.

Coulson nodded. "Our job is to get close enough to sedate her so that we can deliver her to Xavier. I will have the tranq gun and I want you to try and contain the fires and keep her in one place so I can get the shot. Is that clear?" he asked.

I nodded. I could definitely do that. This would be my first proper mission. I wouldn't screw it up.

* * *

><p>I screwed it up, was my first thought when I woke up in medical. I turned my head slightly, being careful of the pain in my skull, to see Coulson sat in the chair beside my bed.<p>

"If you weren't coming out of a two day coma," he said scathingly, as soon as he saw I was awake. "I would be tempted to shoot you right now." He glared at me. "What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"I needed to make sure you could take the shot," I murmured. "The girl needed to get home to her family. I would've been fine if I hadn't left my glucose in the van. And by the time I realised, it was too late to back out. But I promised her family she'd make it home."

Coulson's lips thinned. "And what about your family, Benson? Did you ever think of that? You could've died out there! What about making sure you got home to your family?"

I shook my head, which was still slightly foggy. "I don't have one. They're gone."

Coulson went quiet, looking down at the floor for a moment, before returning his gaze to me. "As long as you are my agent, Bridget Benson, you make sure you come home to me. You got that?"

Then he got up and left, leaving me speechless.

I found out from a nurse that I had been in medical for two days and that Coulson had barely left my side the entire time.

It was a lot to take in, but it seemed now, eleven years after having lost the original ones, I had just gained a new parent...

* * *

><p>I was returned to active duty the next day, when my sugar levels were normalised and I passed the cognitive tests, and I immediately went to find Coulson.<p>

He was in the command room with Fury, discussing Stark again. When they noticed me, Fury greeted me.

"Benson, I see you're better." He didn't mention the incident that landed me in medical bay. He probably knew I'd gotten the third degree from Coulson, earlier. "Your mutant made it to Xavier's. I got confirmation this morning." He sighed. "I have to deal with a rash of U.A.V. sightings."

"Unmanned Arial Vehicles?" I asked.

"Fury, we've got a visual!" an agent called from the other side of the room.

We walked over and watched the screens as what looked like a man-shaped drone travelled along the west coast. Fury and Coulson debated whether the thing was remote controlled or whether there was a man in that thing. Fury went quiet for a moment, and then ordered to see the surveillance from the Kunar Province.

We watched the surveillance of the terrorist's ammo exploding and saw an image in the edge of the explosion.

"It's Stark."

* * *

><p>Coulson and I were attending the Third Annual Firefighter's Fund Gala. He was in a slightly fancier suit and I was in a royal blue dress I had purchased for the occasion.<p>

We tracked down Stark at the bar.

"Mr. Stark?" I asked, being the first to reach him.

"Yeah?" he replied, barely looking round.

"Agent Benson and Agent Coulson," I told him.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The guys from the..."

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division," Coulson finished.

"God, you need a new name for that," Stark murmured into his scotch.

"Yeah, we hear that a lot," Coulson replied. "Listen, I know this must be a trying time for you, but we need to debrief you."

I continued. "There are still a lot of unanswered questions, and time can be a factor with these things," I explained.

Stark nodded, but he was no longer paying us his full attention, instead looking out across the room.

"Let's just put something on the books," Coulson continued. "How about the 24th at 7:00 p.m. at Stark Industries?"

"Tell you what," Stark said, holding out his hand in turn for us to shake, still not looking at us. "You got it. You're absolutely right. Well, I'm going to go to my assistant, and we'll make a date." He turned and left.

Coulson looked at me. I shrugged. "We got a date. Whether or not he remembers is a different issue."

* * *

><p>A few days later, Coulson, Fury, and I were in a small town in the Middle East called Gulmira. The place had been host to a terrorist attack the day before, to be saved by what we were sure was Stark in, we found when we moved a surveillance tape, what appeared to be upgraded armour.<p>

"He made a point of destroying those Jericho missiles," I pointed out, after the video had finished.

Fury nodded. "He knows we're onto him. Maybe he was just trying to wipe out any evidence of his involvement..."

An agent interrupted by calling out from the van. "Fury! Your bogey's just been sighting engaging some F-22 Raptors."

We quickly piled into the van, watching the video feed.

"If he gives those boys anything as much as a nose bleed, I'll make those three months in that cave seem like Club Med," Fury snarled.

"He's attempting to evade, rather than engage," Coulson commented.

We watched as a pilot had to evacuate his jet.

"The parachute's stuck," Fury noticed.

We watched Stark race to the falling pilot, unjamming his chute.

"He exposed himself to fire in order to open the chute manually and save that pilot," Coulson remarked. "Do you think he's just afraid to upset the military, or..?"

Fury was quiet for a moment, looking at the paused video screen. "You know what I think? I think we may have this wrong." He looked up at the two of us. "I think that someone has been playing us."

Fury walked to the van's exit, looking back at us from the doorway.

"I think that Obadiah Stane has been very forthcoming on information on Tony Stark, to say that Stark is supposed to be like a son to him..." Coulson nodded. "We're going back stateside. You two keep your appointment at Stark Industries."

* * *

><p>Coulson and I were sat in chairs in Stark Industries' lobby, waiting for Miss Potts to become available. I was just about to walk to reception to ask again when I saw her coming down the stairs, shoulders tense, staring straight ahead.<p>

"Miss Potts?" Coulson asked, standing. "We had an appointment. Did you forget..?"

"Nope, right now. Come with me," she said briskly, not even slowing down.

"Right now?" Coulson asked, surprised.

"We're going to have it right now," she confirmed. "Yeah, walk with me."

I fell into step on one side of her, Coulson on the other. Something was up and we both could sense it. Miss Potts was scared.

"I'm going to give you the meeting of your life," she promised. "Your office."

* * *

><p>It took us only ten minutes to reach the S.H.I.E.L.D. office in Malibu. Miss Potts handed over a flash drive, which she claimed contained information from the Stark Industries mainframe that Stark had asked her to retrieve, as well as proof that Stane was building his own suit to rival Stark's.<p>

We looked it all over and felt cold.

Coulson had started to call Fury before we had even finished reading it all.

"Sir? You were right. It was Stane. He's been funnelling arms to the Ten Rings." He started pacing. "I'm scrambling to get a team together now, but it gets worse... He's building his own suit."

Miss Potts was on her own cell, trying to contact Stark. "Tony?" she said. "Tony?" she repeated. After a few seconds, she ended the call, looking up at me. "He picked up, but didn't answer. What does that mean?"

I couldn't think of anything to say that would have made her feel any better.

* * *

><p>We assembled a small team of agents and pulled up outside the building Miss Potts directed us to approximately 15 minutes later. We followed her into the building as she swiped her pass to gain entrance.<p>

"Section sixteen, section sixteen," she murmured, looking around as she walked across the room. "There it is," she said, spotting it.

She swiped her pass. It didn't work. She swiped it again.

"It's not working. I should have access to everything."

Coulson looked to me. "Benson, can you..?"

I nodded. Knowing that finesse wasn't the issue here, I created a small force field between the door and the doorframe and rapidly expanded it, ripping the door out of the frame forcefully.

"That works," Miss Potts murmured, looking at me, her eyes full of questions, but knowing now was not the time.

We walked cautiously down the stairs, guns out. Miss Potts remained in the middle of our group, with Coulson, myself, and another agent in front, and three more agents behind her.

We turned a corner and spotted a suit, very similar to the first one we saw Stark wearing,

"You were right," Coulson told her. "He was building a suit."

I looked at it. "I thought it would be bigger."

"Benson, with me," Coulson ordered. I followed him as he jumped over the railing and started to check the room for Stane or any other threats.

We didn't get very far before we heard Miss Potts scream and the sound of gunfire. We ran back to the source of the noise, only to be blindsided as the wall in front of us caved in, debris hitting my head before I could react and knocking me out.

* * *

><p>I came around to Miss Potts running towards us.<p>

"We have to get out of here, right now!" she insisted. An explosion behind her proved how right she was. Coulson wasn't conscious yet, so I formed a field around him and ran with Miss Potts, Coulson trailing just behind us. We managed to just clear the building as the whole thing exploded. I instinctively shielded us all from the blast.

As the explosion died down, I left Coulson, chasing after Miss Potts who was frantically trying to find Stark. She found him collapsed against some railing on the roof.

"Thank God, he's alive," she cried.

I noticed the flickering device in his chest. "Is that thing still working?" I asked, concerned.

"Barely," she whispered. Then she looked up. "Oh no. If Tony's still alive, then Obadiah could be-"

She was interrupted when an object came whizzing over our heads and into the hole into the building below.

I looked over to see Coulson limping towards us. "Don't worry. If he's still alive, that will take care of him." He looked over to Stark. "I'm more concerned about what tomorrow will bring."

* * *

><p>Fury was reading a newspaper in the break room of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Malibu HQ when we got back after briefing Stark on his cover story the next day. The press conference was just beginning on the television on the wall.<p>

"Iron Man," he read. "Catchy. We should trademark it."

"Already done, sir," Coulson surprised me by saying. "All related domains have been purchased, also."

"Stark has been briefed on his cover story," I informed Fury.

I looked up at the television just as Stark deviated from his cover story by saying: "The truth is... I am Iron Man."

I slumped down in the nearest chair in exasperation.

Coulson scowled. "We told him to stick to the statement. He-"

"-did exactly what I expected him to," Fury stated. We both looked to him in surprise.

"That cover story was specially created by the psych boys for Stark to reject. I don't need a yes man. I need someone who is gonna make the right call, doesn't care about odds and rewrites rules on the fly. Stark has the potential to become a great asset... If he can do it under pressure, with the world watching." He paused. "He passed the test."

"I'm speechless, sir," Coulson admitted.

"First time for everything," Fury grinned. He turned to me. "Great work, Benson. Guess the rumours about you were true. Keep up the good work. Oh, and the two of you, take the rest of the week off." He began to walk out of the room. "I have to go see a man about the future of our country."

* * *

><p><em>The next chapter covers Fury's Big Week, which is Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk and Thor. I now need to watch The Incredible Hulk to prepare for this!<em>


	5. 0-8-4

_I wanted to include more from Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2 in this, I really did. But I had this vision of how I wanted Thor to go, and it just wouldn't let me do anything with Bridget being involved in those plot-lines. So I am sorry if you wanted to see those story arcs, but as they happen at the same time, Bridget cannot be in 3 places at once! There is some mention, though! So do not be disheartened! Also, Steve appears in the next chapter! Not long to wait!_

_Also, mentions of a slash pairing. Nothing explicit, just warning you all._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

**0-8-4**

It was six months after Tony Stark told the world he was Iron Man. I had been in Greenland for two weeks, and I didn't like it. I mean, it was exciting, being a part of the expedition to find Captain America, and I knew we were close. We had found another pilot in this area only around twenty minutes ago, but I knew I was only here because Coulson was here. And Coulson was here because he was the biggest Captain America fanboy on the planet. Seriously.

When I confessed to not knowing an awful lot about Captain America, Coulson proceeded to give me every detail. Even down to inconsequential things like how he was reported to have been able to sleep standing up. I mean, who needs to know that?

But I had developing a cough in the last week, and being in this cold environment was just making it worse. Fury had exiled me to the comms feed because my cough had been getting on his nerves.

I was just about to go and find Fury, with some bad news I had just received when, just then, Coulson and Fury walked into the room, in conversation.

"I need you to be a little less excited," Fury was saying.

Coulson scowled. "I am exactly the appropriate amount of excited. It's just that a glacial shift is a certainty within the next month or so, so it is imperative that we move now-"

"Relax, Coulson," Fury said. "We'll find your favourite action figure, don't worry." He turned to me. "Benson, is everything under control here?"

"You received a call from the World Security Council, sir," I informed him.

Fury nodded. "Schedule a call back tomorrow night."

"Actually, sir," I replied, uneasily. "They already scheduled a call back. In 12 hours. From New York HQ."

Fury frowned. "That won't work. We have another 2-4 weeks work to do here-"

"I know, sir. But they gave an executive order to stand down, pack up and head home. They said that they would explain everything on the call."

Fury was irritable all the while we were packing up.

* * *

><p>Coulson and I waited outside Fury's office, uneasily, waiting for him to finish the call with the WSC.<p>

Fury angrily shoved the door to his office and stomped out.

"That took a while," Coulson commented, falling into step, as did I. "Anything worth repeating?"

"Not in polite company," Fury grumbled.

"So what do we do?" I asked.

"We carry on doing what we were doing, but more discretely," Fury replied. "But we tell them we're doing what they want us to do."

"Is that the best plan of action?" Coulson asked.

Fury sighed. "If it's not, we'll find out the hard way."

I gave a great, hacking cough, just then and Fury stopped, scowling at me. "Benson, go home, rest up and take the rest of the week off. Take care of that cold. If I hear that one more time, I will not be responsible for my actions."

I nodded. "Yes, sir. Thank you."

I nodded to Coulson and left, ready to enjoy my week of recovery.

* * *

><p>Darren was on assignment in South Dakota, but Kate mothered me for the first two days of my mandatory sick leave. She fed me hot honey and lemon and sat me down on the couch with a hot water bottle and a blanket, with Buffy the Vampire Slayer playing on Netflix. At the end of day two, she left on assignment to New Mexico.<p>

By day three, I was climbing the walls. I was so bored. I did everything I could think of to get better. I drank so much orange juice and honey and lemon, I was afraid I'd get a vitamin C overdose. By day four, I was almost completely better and was very grateful to get a call from Coulson.

"I need you in New Mexico," he told me.

"New Mexico?" I asked, surprised. "I thought you'd be going back to Greenland."

"Reassignment. Atmospheric disturbances in New Mexico. Indications of a wormhole opening up. We have an 0-8-4 here, stuck tight in the ground. We can't lift it. We were hoping that you might be able to. We need to get it to the lab."

An 0-8-4 was an object of unknown origin. "I'll be there as soon as I can," I told him. "Text me the co-ordinates."

I grabbed my car keys from the coffee table and headed out the door.

* * *

><p>When I arrived at the facility, chaos reigned. Agents were trying to repair damage and set things to rights after what looked like one hell of a fight.<p>

Barton walked over to me as I got out of my car. "Benson," he greeted. "You missed all the fun!"

I laughed. "So I can see."

He grinned. "You should've seen it. Huge blond guy took out Cage. It was very satisfying to watch."

I groaned. "Aww! I can't believe I missed that!" No one liked Agent Luke Cage. He was a massive dick.

"Well, I was on mandatory sick leave for pissing off Fury with my cold," I told him. "So I'm assuming this is good?"

Barton nodded. "Tell me about it. I was on my first week's vacation since I started working for S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury said alien crash site, though, and I couldn't walk out the door fast enough."

We walked into the makeshift facility together. I caught sight of Kate talking to Sitwell in the corner. She waved at me and I waved back. I followed Barton as he brought me to Coulson, who was standing outside a closed door.

"Still not talking?" Barton asked.

"Not yet," Coulson sighed. He squeezed my shoulder in greeting.

"Guy like that could take a lot of torture before he started talking. That's if you're into torture, which I know you're not," Barton stated, leaning casually against the wall.

Coulson's eyes flicked up to him. "You have an idea?"

"Yeah. Cut him loose."

Coulson was too shocked to reply.

"You want to let him go?" I asked, incredulously. "The man managed to best Cage in a fight and you want to let him loose into the general public?"

Barton nodded, addressing Coulson. "After you shackled him, I saw some chick run back to her car. It was obvious that she'd given him a ride and, once he was captured she wasn't awfully subtle about getting out of here." He shrugged. "I'm just saying. This guy may be a pro, but the guys he's with are not. You want intel; you cut him loose and give him a tail."

Coulson glanced at Coulson, appreciatively. "Not a bad idea."

Not five minutes later, Sitwell popped his head around the corner. "He's got a visitor," he announced.

We all gathered at the front of the facility, where a man introduced himself as Dr Erik Selvig and claimed that the man in our detention room was a colleague of his, Dr Donald Blake.

Coulson kept him talking, while an agent ran this information. I could see the record pop up as falsified while Selvig was claiming the man was on steroids.

"Says here he's an M.D.," Coulson called out, noticing the falsified record too.

Selvig seemed flustered and tried to talk his way out of it all.

Coulson humoured him for another minute, before letting him into the facility, showing him the way to the blond man.

As they both left, Coulson turned to Barton and I. "Follow them," he instructed.

* * *

><p>Surveillance was boring, but Barton made it fun. Because Selvig and the other man had not seen the two of us very clearly, we didn't bother with much more than a change of clothes and hairstyle in terms of disguise. Luckily for us, the men decided to go to a bar and try to out drink the other, where Selvig was far outclassed.<p>

Barton and I played a few games of pool, keeping an eye on our targets, but taking the opportunity to talk, as well.

"You recommended me to Coulson," I began. "Why?"

Barton took the break, potting two balls. "Because I knew you had the potential to be great. You sensed my hit coming, even though you were immersed in your fight with the other cadet. Then, you switched your focus without any issue at all and managed to hold your own against a highly trained and practiced field agent, who had the height and weight advantage as well. You were perceptive enough to know that Natasha and I were in trouble, and that was why we were there. You also aren't afraid to ask questions."

I gaped at him. "You seriously got all of that from an hour of training?"

Barton raised an eyebrow. "I got all of that from the first five minutes of our fight."

* * *

><p>We took it in turns to nap during the night on the roof across from Jane Foster's trailer, so we had some sleep, at least, when Coulson called us early the next morning, telling us that he would send two agents to relieve us, as he needed us at the sight of another anomaly.<p>

We used the car the two agents brought with them and reached the coordinates Coulson gave us only a little after he did.

He was looking at a circular design on the desert floor.

"Get somebody from linguistics up here," he called to Sitwell.

Just then, there is a rumbling, which increased so much it causes several car windscreens to shatter. We all tried to find some cover from the dust that kicked up from the disturbance. A hole in the sky overhead opened, and a funnel cloud exploded out of it, touching down onto the desert floor.

From behind a jeep, Coulson, Barton, Sitwell and I all gaped at the figure that appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. It was reminiscent of the Iron Man, which is probably why Sitwell asked: "Is that one of Stark's?"

"I don't know," Coulson sighed. "The guy never tells me anything."

He took a megaphone from an agent as he walked closer to the... thing.

"Hello! You're using unregistered weapons technology. Please identify yourself," he called.

"Does that ever work?" I murmur to Barton.

Barton chuckled darkly.

The thing hummed and its face panels opened to reveal an inferno.

"Incoming!" Coulson yelled, diving for cover.

It blasted several cars. I did my best to protect the agents, but I couldn't be in several places at once. I did stop a piece of flying debris that was inches away from hitting Barton.

He glanced at me quickly. "Thanks."

I nodded, dragging my attention back to where the thing had been, but it was now gone.

Coulson was applying pressure to a wound on Sitwell's neck. When Kate rushed over, he ordered her to take over.

"I'm fine," Sitwell grumbled. "That thing is heading for downtown. Call for backup."

Coulson nodded. Backup arrived within ten minutes. We spent the next five directing the medics to the most critically injured.

Coulson then called out, "Any field agent able to walk and fire a gun, get in a car and follow me."

Barton, Kate, and I all piled into Coulson's car and we tore off into town.

When we got into town, it seemed like once again, I missed all the action. The thing was lying, beaten and broken on the floor of the main street. The blond man was standing, red cloaked and looking the epitome of Viking warrior, among Jane Foster, Erik Selvig and several other people I did not know.

We approached them. "Donald," Coulson greeted the blond man. "I don't think you've been completely honest with me."

The blond man gave Coulson his full attention. "Know this, son of Coul. You and I, we fight for the same cause - the protection of this world. From this day forward, count me as your ally." He paused. "If you return the items you have taken from Jane Foster."

"Stolen," Jane interrupted.

"Borrowed," Coulson countered. He sighed, addressing Jane. "Of course you can have your equipment back. You're going to need it to continue your research."

* * *

><p>Coulson had fallen asleep in the front seat of the car. Barton and I kept ourselves entertained by playing the license plate game, like the full grownups we were.<p>

When we arrived at the S.H.I.E.L.D. airbase, I poked Coulson repeatedly from the backseat.

"Coulson," I called, still prodding him. He didn't answer. "Hey, Son of Coul!

"Hmm?" he murmured, opening his eyes. "What?"

"We're here," Barton informed him. He parked and unbuckled his seatbelt. "And the next time you call me in, I'd appreciate the opportunity to shoot something," he added.

Coulson yawned. "I'll make a note of it," he told him.

We supervised the loading of the thing – the Destroyer, I learned it was called – onto the jet, and then boarded ourselves.

Coulson called Fury to report that we were on our way back with the thing, and then went to find somewhere to lie down for the rest of the trip.

Barton and I talked for most of the trip home. During the flight, we started referring to each other by our first names. Clint insisted that I start sparring with him in the mornings, to enhance my skill. I joked that he just wanted to make sure that he could still beat me.

* * *

><p>We were only back in New York for about two hours when Coulson received a file from a dark haired woman.<p>

"Where's Fury?" Coulson asked.

The woman grimaced. "Fury is having a very long week. I'm here to pick up some slack." She sighed. "We need Barton on this and you're the only senior agent currently available on site. Take Benson too. She's still green."

I took offence to this, but held my tongue. I could tell this woman was important, if she was handing Coulson orders.

When she left, I gave Clint a questioning gaze. "Deputy Director Hill," he explained. "She spends most of her time on the D.C., but she's assigned to the helicarrier at the moment, so you probably won't have seen her much."

I nodded. I had heard of her. I had spent some time on the helicarrier in the last six months. Most agents did a rotation on it.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Portland," Coulson replied, flipping through the file. "Small terrorist cell. Nothing we can't handle. Two days, max."

I sighed. I hoped that was all, because I was in desperate need of a break, soon.

* * *

><p>The assignment was a piece of cake. We didn't even get too close. Clint proved he was worthy of his Hawkeye call sign by making a near impossible shot to take out the leader of the group.<p>

Coulson was so pleased with how smoothly it had gone that he got us a hotel suite so that we could actually get some sleep before heading back to New York. That brief rooftop nap seemed an age ago now.

I slept like a log for hours, waking up in the middle of the night, needing a drink. I made my way to the fridge, quietly, not wanting to wake either of the men up. As I tiptoed past Coulson's room, I was surprised to hear noises come from inside. I stopped, trying to figure out what was happening.

As soon as it registered what I was hearing, I straightened up, blushing, and went straight back to bed without the drink.

It was worse than accidentally seeing a stranger naked which, until now, was the most embarrassing thing I've ever done.

I had just heard Coulson and Clint having sex.

It was so much worse.

* * *

><p>I tried my best to behave as normal the next day, which, thanks to my training in espionage, I am sure that I managed. The journey back to New York was uneventful and Coulson left me to do the paperwork for our Portland trip while he went to check on something to do with the Destroyer. I did my best to not mention the fact that I had heard my SO and my co-worker having sex while I was supposed to be sleeping in the next room.<p>

When I was on my way to submit it, I ran into Coulson. He looked about ready to faint.

"Coulson?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "They found him," he almost whispered.

"What?" I asked, not understanding.

"Captain America," he elaborated. "They found him. He's alive."


	6. Waking Up

_This was actually the first chapter I wrote. When I envisioned my character and who I wanted her to interact with, I knew this was how I wanted her to meet Steve. The thing with Thor's hammer came next, then Coulson being her SO. Then a Winter Soldier moment which I won't get into because of spoilers! ...Just letting you guys know a bit about my writing process..._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

**Waking Up**

"This isn't going to work."

Kate turned to me. I could tell she was rolling her eyes as she did so. "Oh, ye of little faith," she remarked.

I glanced down the hall at where Fury was standing. I wasn't sure why he had insisted on Captain Rogers waking up this way, but I wasn't in any position to argue. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents followed orders, after all. I just couldn't shift the feeling that something was going to go wrong. Then again, that was why I had been called in, just in case.

Fury had banned Coulson from being here when the Captain woke, which was good because I was half afraid that Coulson would actually pass out from the excitement. I had heard nothing from Coulson but Captain America facts since the man had been found a little over a week ago. I'm glad that the med team had decided to wean him off the sedatives now because if I had to put up with it for much longer, I was afraid that I'd actually just shoot my SO.

When one of the tech guys motioned to us that the Captain was waking up, Kate took a breath and looked to me again. "Wish me luck," she called as she headed towards the illusion that she had been holding for about an hour now. I was glad that the Captain had woken now, because the wear of holding the illusion was beginning to show on Kate's small frame.

She disappeared into the illusion and none of us could see her for about a minute. Suddenly, a red exclamation mark appeared on the outside of the illusion, the agreed signal that something was going wrong. I immediately charged towards the illusion, but was hit by a body that barelled out of the illusion at high speed. The hit winded me, but I quickly managed to gather myself and run after the man. I was the quickest of the agents to gather my wits, but he was a little too far outside my range to catch him in a field.

I heard Kate calling for backup and Fury shouting orders, but I ignored it all to sprint after the retreating figure making his way out of the building. I jumped over several fallen agents and made it outside in time to see the Captain turn left down the street and go around the corner. I slipped down an alley to cut him off on the other side. I exited the shortcut just as he was sprinting by and he was close enough for me to catch him in a bubble.

He was still running so he hit the side of the field with such force that he bounced off and landed in a crumpled heap at the bottom.

I walked up to the bubble and the man looked up at me through the force field with such a lost expression that it just pulled at my heartstrings. I put my hands up to show him that I meant him no harm and parted the field just enough that I could slip in, closing it behind me.

"Captain Rogers," I began, quickly and calmly. "I mean you no harm. I know this is all very confusing, but I'm here to help you. I'm Agent Benson. I work for S.H.I.E.L.D. We're with the US Government. You were found, frozen at the bottom of the Arctic, not too long ago. I don't mean to alarm you, but your plane went down almost 70 years ago."

His eyes widened in shock and he looked down at the bottom of the field for a moment, silently.

I knelt on the floor next to him. "Are you okay?" I probed, cautiously.

"Yeah," he answered, quietly. "Just… I had a date…"

A knock on my force field made me jump. I turned around and saw Director Fury standing there with a pointed expression. Agents were keeping civilians away, behind him. I turned back to the Captain.

"Okay, Captain Rogers," I began. "I have to lower the force field now. Promise me that you won't run again? Because, quite frankly, that last chase tired me out and if I have to do it again, you're going to be buying me coffee and cake as reparation. Deal?"

He laughed quietly and nodded

"Alright," I began. "The man with the eye patch is Director Fury. He wants to talk to you, explain things further. He's my boss, so if you feel the need to tell him just how nice I've been and how I deserve a raise, then you just go ahead." I wait for the nod and chuckle before I lower the force field, stand up and offer my hand to help Captain Rogers up. He takes my hand in a firm grip and pulls himself upright.

I step back and look back to fury. He nods his head. "Thank you, Agent Benson. Please return to HQ for debriefing."

"Yes sir," I answer, nodding. I allow myself a quick glance and a smile at Captain Rogers before heading back to base.

I don't know whether or not I imagined the small returned smile.

* * *

><p>I had just collected my belongings and was on my way out when I literally ran into Captain Rogers again in the corridor. My head bounced off of his hard chest with some force as we rounded the corner in conflicting directions.<p>

"Ow!" I moaned, clutching my forehead.

"I am so sorry, ma'am… Miss Benson… Agent Benson…." he fumbled, then sighed. "I don't seem to be getting the hang of all of this."

I patted his arm comfortingly. "You'll get there, Captain. S.H.I.E.L.D. is letting you go?"

"Not officially," Captain Rogers sighed. "Director Fury says I have a clean bill of health and that I'm to be set up with somewhere to live and I have a load of back pay from the army to live on... But it's just so..."

I nodded. If it were me, waking up in a totally different future, everyone I knew gone, I wouldn't have a clue what to do, where to start.

"Listen," I began. "You're probably not technically allowed and I could get into so much trouble for this, but..." I took a deep breath. "There is a coffee shop out the main entrance and to the left, on the corner. It's called Sal's. I will be there in five minutes. If, somehow, a super-soldier with no knowledge of the last few decades manages to escape S.H.I.E.L.D.'s clutches and wants to know a bit more about the world he is now living in, then a certain S.H.I.E.L.D. agent may just feel obliged to fill him in on some important cultural blanks..."

The Captain smiled slightly and nodded. I returned the smile and, sidestepping his broad frame, continued to exit the building.

Coulson was going to be so jealous of me.

* * *

><p>I had been sitting in the coffee shop, attempting the crossword puzzle in that day's paper, for about ten minutes when someone tall came up to my table, blocking a great deal of the light. I looked up to see the giant form of Captain Rogers, standing there awkwardly.<p>

"Captain," I greeted. "Please, sit." I indicated the chair across from me.

"Thank you, Agent Benson," he murmured, taking the seat.

"Please, it's Bridget," I insisted. "I'm not on duty right now, so we'll desist with the whole 'Agent' stuff for the time being. It makes me feel all stuffy, old and boring, being 'Agent Benson'." It made me feel like Coulson, to be honest. The 'Agent' part was like his whole identity. The more I worked and the older I got, I realised that I didn't want to be defined by my job any more than I wanted to be defined by my powers.

"Then it's Steve," the Captain replied. "Although I feel I reserve the right to feel 'old' right now." He gazed out of the window, where a woman in hot pants and a halter top walked by on her cell phone, crossing paths with a group of teenage boys with headphones around their neck and skateboards under their arms.

I felt so bad for the Captain – Steve, I reminded myself. "Would you like some coffee?" I asked, feeling like I needed something to do before things got too melancholy and awkward.

"I don't have any money yet..." Steve began.

"My treat," I insisted.

It looked for a moment as if he wanted to argue, but his shoulders slumped in defeat a second later.

"What do you want?" I asked.

Steve looked at the menu behind the counter, listing all the drinks on offer, blankly. "...Coffee..?" he ventured.

I laughed. "Okay, one regular coffee, coming right up. Milk? Sugar?"

He shook his head. "I got used to being without, during the war," he explained.

I paid for Steve's drink and ordered myself a gingerbread latte, my personal favourite, grabbing a fistful of sugar packets on the way back to our table.

"So," I started as I sat down. "Is there anything in particular you want to know, or do you just want me to start from the beginning?"

Our drinks arrived as I started to explain the cold war. I had to pause explaining the McCarthy trials when I noticed Steve's eyebrows rise in astonishment as I poured my ninth packet of sugar into my latte.

"Everyone knows these little packets are barely half a real spoonful," I said, defensively.

"You regularly consume that much sugar with your coffee?" he asked, incredulously.

I shrugged. "Using my powers extends quite a lot of energy, which causes my sugar levels to drop quite dramatically, the longer I use them. I tend to try to keep my sugar levels fairly high in case of emergencies. The doctors at S.H.I.E.L.D. hate that I do it. They keep talking about me developing diabetes, but the risk of that and the almost constant hyperactivity is better than being in a situation where my sugar levels are too low, I go into hypoglycaemic shock and someone gets hurt because of it..." I trailed off, uncomfortably.

"Your powers?" Steve inquired. "What you did before, with the force field?"

I nodded. "Yes. I'm a mutant. It's a lot more accepted now than it was back when you were growing up. There was this whole movement in the seventies, but I'll get to that."

I continued with the abbreviated history lesson. Around Martin Luther King, Jr, we decided to get cake. Around Professor Xavier and the mutant movement I ordered another round of coffees. Explaining the Gulf War, then 9/11 and the current conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq was difficult.

Steve absently picked at the laminate that was peeling off of the menu. "You know, we all thought that maybe after the War was over, that would be enough. The world would see the devastation that war had wrought and there would be peace. It didn't last long. They never learn, do they?"

I shook my head. "No. It tends to be a touchy subject. Personally, I think most governments see war as a means to an end. They don't think about the individual people."

We steered away from the subject of war for a while and I started to explain technological and scientific advances.

"Has S.H.I.E.L.D. issued you with a cell phone?" I asked.

Steve shrugged. "They probably will," he replied. "I imagine Fury will want some way to easily contact me."

I grabbed a napkin and wrote my number down. "When they do, this is my number. They should show you how to work it. If not, come find me. I showed my dad how to use a computer when I was ten. I'm sure if I could survive that, I'll survive teaching you how to use a cell phone."

"You haven't talked much about yourself," Steve commented. "What do your parents think about you working for a top-secret government organisation?"

I immediately tensed. "That," I said firmly, "is a conversation for another time." I looked at the clock behind the counter. "It's almost closing time. I should get home. And you should get back to S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury's probably having an aneurysm over your disappearance right about now."

"Probably," Steve admitted.

We both stood up. I grabbed my things and followed Steve to the door. He held open the door for me. I smiled as I passed him. We paused on the sidewalk outside.

"Goodbye... Bridget," Steve said, smiling slightly.

"Goodbye... Steve," I returned.

We turned and left in opposite directions. I hazarded a glance over my shoulder to see his solid form walking back to the S.H.I.E.L.D. building. Almost as if he saw me looking, he turned and waved. I waved back with a grin and continued my walk to the subway.

* * *

><p>If anyone found out about me encouraging Steve's escape from S.H.I.E.L.D. for coffee, cake and a history lesson, no one mentioned it the next day. Kate and Darren both tried to pry out of me what happened when I caught up with Steve on the street after he ran out of the illusion, but I was unusually professional about it, remembering to refer to Steve as 'Captain Rogers', which was more difficult than I thought it was going to be. To my mind, he was now very much 'Steve'.<p>

I was in the middle of filing my report on the happenings of the day before (the ones that occurred before the great coffee escape, obviously), when my cell phone alerted me to a text message from an unknown number.

_Agent Benson_

_I have been supplied with a cell phone and shown the basic features, including how to 'text'._

_However, I find myself confused as to what an 'app' is and wondered whether you would have time to explain about it._

_Sincerely,_

_Steve Rogers_

I laughed aloud at the formal wording and formatting of the text. The man was obviously used to communicating via letters, I supposed. I would have to teach him that texting was more like communicating via telegraph than letter. I texted back straight away, saving his number for future reference.

_Hi Steve. Lunch. 1pm. Sal's? Barring emergency, of course. Bridget x_

I sent the text, only reading it back once it had sent. I felt a mixture of slight horror and amusement.

I had just sent a text to Captain America and automatically put a kiss on the end. My life was so weird right now.


	7. Spontaneous Advancement

_Now we get into some Avengers action! Avengers will last several chapters. Prepare for angst in a few chapters' time! _

_Also, I'm considering doing some side stories. The plot's moving along fast in this story and I haven't had a lot of time to do character stuff, which I usually love doing. I'm thinking of doing one each for Coulson/Clint, Darren, Kate, Jean Grey, Steve, and Tony, so far. I may wait until I've finished up with Winter Soldier while I wait for Age of Ultron, so at least I'm posting something in the meantime... Let me know what you think and which of these stories you want to see first!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>

**Spontaneous Advancement**

It had been just over a month since Steve had woken up and I began to see him almost every day. At first, we'd make excuses, like, "Oh, I forgot to tell you about this," or "Could you show me how to work this?" We both knew it was bull. Steve began reading everything he could in his spare time and it took him no longer to figure out modern technology than it did most people to dress themselves. This was the man who figured out Hydra technology in less than five minutes, after all. (Thank Coulson for this information.)

By the end of the second week, we just started hanging out because we genuinely enjoyed each others' company. I was sure that Fury and Coulson knew exactly what was going on, but neither of them said anything, although I did catch several side glances and Coulson looked like he was permanently on the verge of saying something and deciding against it, but I let it lie for now. I was happy and I didn't want to upset this tentative balance my life had going on.

For my twenty-fourth birthday, I had refused Kate and Darren's offer of a party, stating that I had to work, but in reality, I planned to spend the day with Steve.

I found him in an old S.H.I.E.L.D. gym, alone. He was going at the bag like there was no tomorrow.

"Hey," I greeted him, grinning.

Steve turned around and grinned back. "Good morning."

"Making sure you're not getting rusty?" I teased. "Because you look a bit out of practice there, Cap."

Steve snorted. "Please. Even out of practice, I'm in better shape than most of these S.H.I.E.L.D. agents."

I straightened up. "Oh no, you didn't," I murmured. "Was that a challenge, Captain Rogers?"

His gaze met mine. "I don't know, Agent Benson," he returned. "Was it?"

* * *

><p>"I take it back," I gasped, flat on my back with Steve's firm thighs straddling my own and my wrists in his vice grip above my head. "You're in good shape. Not rusty at all."<p>

He grinned down at me for a moment, relaxing his grip. I took immediate advantage and rolled us over, scrambling until I was the one straddling him.

"Ha!" I crowed in delight. "I got one over on Captain America. Coulson will be so proud!"

I looked down at Steve, who was beginning to flush pink. It took me a few seconds, but I realised the position we were in and quickly got up.

"Sorry," I apologised. Now I was flushing.

Steve got up and grabbed a towel; wiping his face in what I assumed was an excuse not to look at me in his embarrassment.

I wasn't sure why I felt awkward. I mean, Steve was my friend. We were comfortable with each other to a certain extent. I mean, I can't say I hadn't noticed his – rather fine – physique. And if I had begun to have some not so PG-13 rated dreams... Well, that was between me, my sheets and any god of dreams there might be.

"So, I am going out for my traditional birthday pancake breakfast," I informed Steve. "I came here to invite you so I wouldn't end up getting pitying looks when sit on my own and order a side of pancakes with my syrup."

"It's your birthday?" Steve asked, startled. He dropped the towel and looked at me. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't?" I shrugged. "It's not massively important. I don't do much. Just pancakes. Pancakes for birthday breakfast have been tradition since I was four and my mom learned how to make them. When I went to Xavier's school, Dr. Grey-Summers made me pancakes every year. She told me that it's important to do things like that to keep the tradition alive and remember those who can't be there with you that year. I've been going out for them since I moved to the city, because I can't cook for shit."

Steve was quiet and for a moment I thought he was going to refuse to go with me, but when he looked up with a soft smile, I felt relieved.

"Where to?" he asked.

* * *

><p>Steve and I had the best day. We ate so many pancake between us that when we left that I swore we had eaten five people's pancake quotas for a whole year.<p>

We went to the park and I laughed my ass off when a duckling started following Steve around like he was its mother. After shaking the duckling, we saw a movie and went back to Steve's apartment in Brooklyn for pizza.

There was no random work calls, no annoying 'where are you' texts from my friends and no emergency situations.

I should have known that wouldn't last.

* * *

><p>The day after my birthday, I was getting ready to go home when Coulson called me.<p>

"Suit up," he told me. "There's a situation with Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. I'm already en route. You're on Fury."

I breathed in, harshly. Being 'on Fury' was a big deal. It meant that we were going into an unknown situation where the Director needed protecting at all costs.

In the bigger picture, I knew that Fury's life was worth more than mine. That wasn't me being self-deprecating or anything. It was fact. If it came down to it, I would have to lay down my life so that Fury could keep his.

Being 'on Fury' was like being on Secret Service detail to the President.

"Got it," I confirmed.

* * *

><p>The helicopter landed outside some sort of research facility. I didn't know what Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. was. I didn't have the clearance for that information. All I knew was that Dr. Selvig had been contracted to work on it and that Clint had been dispatched here two days after we returned from Portland.<p>

Deputy Director Hill jumped out of the helicopter first. I followed her, Fury bringing up the rear. The entire place was in chaos. People were evacuating, rushing about, loading things into black SUVs and getting out of dodge.

Coulson was stood there waiting for us.

"How bad is it?" Fury shouted, over the din.

"That's the thing sir," Coulson began, matching Fury's pace as he walked to the facility. Hill and I followed. "We don't know." We walked into the facility. Technicians and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents scrambled around, gathering essentials and leaving the building.

"Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago," Coulson continued.

Fury scowled. "NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase."

Coulson shook his head. "He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement."

"It just turned itself on?" Hill inserted.

When Coulson nodded, Fury asked, "What are the energy levels now?"

"Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac."

Fury looked around at the technicians still trying to evacuate. "How long to get everyone out?" he asked.

"Campus should be clear in the next half hour."

Fury grimaced. "Do better."

Coulson nodded, glancing at me quickly before leaving to continue the evacuation procedures.

"Sir," Hill began as we descended some stairs. "Evacuation may be futile."

"I know that," Fury answered, evenly. "What, do you want me to tell everybody to go back to sleep?"

"I'm just saying," Hill continued. "If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance." She glanced sideways at me and I understood the reason for my presence. This Tesseract, whatever that was, may need containing and I may be the last ditch effort to do so.

We reached the bottom of the stairs. I was so busy thinking about the situation that I missed what Fury asked of Hill, but she gathered waiting agents from the room and walked briskly out of a side door while I followed Fury into the next room.

"Sir," I asked, spotting Clint on the railings above us. "Am I okay to get a sitrep from Agent Barton?"

Fury nodded. "Do it. Quick." He turned to Selvig, who was busying himself with machinery across the room. "Talk to me, Doctor," he called.

To save time, I wrapped a forcefield around my body and lifted myself up to the railings.

"I'll never get bored of seeing that," Clint remarked once I landed.

"Well," I countered, sitting myself down next to him, dangling my legs over the platform edge, glad that my fear of heights had gotten better since the discovery of my powers. "You know I only do it for your amusement."

He grinned.

"So what's the sitrep?" I asked. "Has it been interesting enough to make up for missing out on that sparring you promised me?"

Clint shrugged. "Selvig's boring and has no friends," he claimed. "There's been no contact. No emails, phone calls, IMs, nothing. So there's been no tampering from this end that I can discover."

Fury's voice came from over the comms, requesting both of us down on the floor. I brought us both back to the ground quickly and Clint repeated what he had told me to Fury.

"Like I said to Benson, sir," Clint went on. "If there was any tampering, it wasn't done at this end."

"At this end?" Fury questioned.

Clint shrugged. "The cube's a doorway right? Doors open from both sides."

There was a rumbling and the Tesseract started pulsing more, spurting out bursts of energy, getting bigger and bigger.

"Benson..." Fury began.

"On it."

I created a forcefield around the Tesseract, but the Tesseract did not like that one bit. It started fighting against the field and I knew right away that I was fighting a losing battle.

"Sir, I can't hold it!" I shouted, straining. I was starting to feel lightheaded, but I needed my hands to direct the field. "Clint," I ordered. "Glucose. Right pocket. Now." It was no time for niceties. I needed to get some sugar in me as quick as possible. Clint sprung into action as Fury replied.

"Come on, Benson. Hold on. Selvig!" he called. "Can't you do something?"

Clint popped several glucose tablets into my mouth and, after several seconds, I could feel them beginning to work. With renewed strength, I pushed the Tesseract harder, trying to force its energy back on itself. Unfortunately, the Tesseract had other plans and with a mighty push, the energy burst out, overloading my field and knocking me out cold.

* * *

><p>I woke up with a sweet taste in my mouth and a disoriented feeling. It took me a few seconds to realise that some glucose tablets had been shoved in my mouth and someone had me in a fireman's lift and was running with me. It took a glance at the long leather jacket I was resting on to realise that it was Fury who was carrying me.<p>

"Sir?" I mumbled.

"Glad to have you with us, Benson," Fury bit out, taking a sharp corner as something came flying towards us from the opposite direction. "Think you can walk?" he asked.

"Yeah," I grunted.

Fury set me down and, though my legs felt like they were made of jell-o at first, I soon was running fast enough to keep up.

We made it to the roof, jumping onto the waiting helicopter just as the roof collapsed from under us.

Fury and I lay panting on the floor of the helicopter. I tried to get my breath back as I looked to my boss.

"What the hell happened?" I asked.

* * *

><p>I sought out Coulson straight after medical cleared me. I texted Steve to let him know that I would be by to see him when I was done; I wanted a Steve hug after today.<p>

Coulson's face upon being informed that Barton had been compromised was not something I ever wanted to see again. It was only a split second, before he schooled his features and went about his job like a good agent, but I could tell; the news had broken him a little.

He was sat at his desk, staring at his phone, blankly. When he noticed me there, he seemed to collect himself.

"What can I do for you, Agent Benson?" he asked, professionally.

"Cut the shit, Coulson," I said, startling him. I walked around his desk to lean against the other side. "I know about you and Clint."

He looked at me, shocked. "How-?"

"Super secret government agents should be more discrete in Portland hotel rooms," I told him.

Coulson snorted, rubbing his hands down his face. "Why did you not say anything?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Figured it was your business. Why did you not say anything about the fact you know I've become friends with Steve Rogers?"

"Figured it was your business," Coulson echoed, smiling softly.

"So," I said to him. "I just want you to know, that with me, right now, you don't have to pretend that everything's okay. Your partner has been brainwashed and kidnapped by an alien from another world. It's okay to take a minute to fall apart, you know."

Coulson leant forward and rested his forehead against my side.

"Thanks," he said, softly.

I ran a hand through his thinning hair a few times while his shoulders trembled. After about a minute, he pulled himself up and rubbed his face with both hands. He looked up at me, gratefully, before sighing and looking down at his phone.

"I have to call Romanov and tell her," he told me.

"Shit. Do you want me to..?"

He shook his head. "No. Has to be me. Then I'm going to Stark. Fury's activating the Avengers Initiative." He paused. "So I would advise you to go enjoy one last night of freedom with Captain Rogers while you can," he said.

* * *

><p>I took the steps down to the gym two at a time, calling out "Steve, I need a hug and ice cream in that order..."<p>

I trailed off when I saw that Steve was not alone.

"Agent Benson," Fury greeted me, coolly.

"Director Fury," I replied, glancing at Steve.

Fury turned back to Steve. "There will be a debriefing packet waiting for you at your apartment." Steve nodded.

"You and Coulson will be the Captain's escort to the Helicarrier," Fury informed me. He then turned to leave. He made it to the bottom of the stairs before turning back. "Is there anything else about the Tesseract that we should know?" he asked.

Steve glanced at him evenly. "You should have left it in the ocean."

Fury left and I glanced at Steve. He looked tense. I didn't move, letting him get his bearings back.

"You okay?" Steve asked, focussing on me.

I opened my mouth to say 'yeah', on autopilot, but the word got stuck in my throat. Instead, I shook my head softly. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as Steve crossed the room in a few long strides and his arms enveloped me. I had been hugged by Steve a few times now and it always made me feel secure, like no one could hurt me.

"One of my friends. Agent Barton," I began. "It'll be in your debrief. He was compromised. We don't know what's happening or whether he'll be okay, but..." I trailed off, scrunching my face into Steve's hard chest. He rubbed his fingers up and down my back, reassuringly. He didn't have to say anything.


	8. Helicarrier

_I hope you'll forgive the wait! I know two weeks isn't ages, but it's the longest time between all the other chapters so far! My only excuse is that I have been binge watching Supernatural and having a mental breakdown, so be glad you got this today! I still have 3 episodes of Supernatural to watch!_

_Again, this chapter relies heavily on text from The Avengers. It was unavoidable if I wanted to keep to canon. I hope you'll forgive me!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

**Helicarrier**

I picked Steve up on the way to HQ so that we could get there together. Coulson was waiting for us, looking unruffled and well put together. He was in full agent emergency mode.

"Benson. Captain," he greeted. "Shall we?"

When we settled onto the jet, Coulson and I began to inform Steve about the rest of the members of the Avengers initiative, using a tablet to show him clips. He was just watching the clips of the Hulk's destruction of Culver University when the pilot announced that we were forty minutes out from the base.

"So, this Dr. Banner was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?" Steve asked, looking up from the tablet.

"A lot of people were," I told him. "Banner's probably the person that came the closest that we know of. He thought the secret laid in gamma radiation."

"Didn't really go his way, though, did it?" Steve commented, watching the Hulk destroy a tank.

"Not so much," Coulson replied. "When he's not..." he gestured to the video clip showing the Hulk. "The guy's pretty much a Stephen Hawking."

Steve blinked, turning to me with a questioning look.

"A really smart guy," I translated.

Steve nodded, pausing the video.

"I've gotta say, it's an honor to meet you, officially," Coulson told Steve. "I watched you while you were sleeping."

I choked on my laugh, trying to cover it with a cough.

"I mean," Coulson corrected himself, glaring at me. "I was present when you were unconscious from the ice. It's just a huge honor to have you on board."

"I just hope that I'm the man for the job," Steve murmured.

"'Course you are," I admonished. "Stop putting yourself down. You proved yesterday that you're not rusty. You've still got it."

"Oh, um," Coulson interrupted. "We've also made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input."

I looked at him incredulously. "You had design input? You think a fashion statement is wearing a differently colored tie."

Coulson scowled at me.

* * *

><p>We set down on the Helicarrier's landing strip and quickly exited the jet. Romanov was waiting for us and Coulson introduced Steve to her.<p>

"Ma'am," Steve said, politely.

"Hi," Romanov replied. She turned to me. "Benson."

"Romanov," I nodded back. I didn't really know her too well, but I knew what she was capable of and respected her for it. I also knew that she and Clint were very close and that she had to be as scared for him as Coulson and I were.

"They need you on the bridge," Romanov told Coulson. He nodded.

"See you there," he called, walking away.

"There was quite the buzz around here when you were found in the ice," Romanov remarked to Steve. "I thought Coulson was gonna swoon."

I laughed. "So did I," I told her. "I have a bet on with myself on how long it takes until he asks Steve to sign his Captain America trading cards."

Steve looked confused. "Trading cards?"

"They're vintage," Romanov supplied.

"He's very proud," I said.

I noticed someone walking towards us and realized that it is Dr. Banner. The man looked nervous as hell and people had to continually move out of his way when he just didn't seem to notice them.

"Dr. Banner," Steve called, having obviously also recognized the man. He stepped forward to shake the doctor's hand.

"Oh," Banner replied, nervously. "Yeah. Hi. They told me you'd be coming."

Steve nodded. "Word is you can find the cube."

Banner looked at Steve, reservedly, pausing for a second. "Is that the only word on me?" he asked.

"Only one I care about," Steve replied.

I had to hold back a smile. That was my Steve; nonjudgmental and accepting to the last.

The thought made me freeze. _My _Steve? Where the hell had that come from?

While I had my quick freak out, the helicarrier started to shake as the engines kicked in.

"Gentlemen," Romanov prompted. "You may wanna step inside in a minute. It's going to get a little hard to breathe."

* * *

><p>Romanov and I brought Steve and Banner to the bridge quickly, the two of them trying to take in their surroundings slowly.<p>

"Gentlemen," Fury greeted them, once he noticed their presence. "Thank you, Agent Benson." He turned to Banner. "Doctor, thank you for coming."

Banner looked at him warily. "Thanks for asking nicely. So, uh... how long am I staying?"

Fury straightened up. "Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear."

"And where are you with that?" Banner asked.

Fury turns to Coulson to explain. Romanov stiffens slightly beside me and I glance over at what caught her attention. When I saw the image of Clint Barton on a computer screen across the bridge, I felt my anger bubbling up. Loki sure had a lot to answer for.

"That's still not gonna find them in time," Romanov spoke up, snapping me out of my trance.

They spoke with Banner for a little while longer, talking about science stuff that I didn't really understand. Science was not my thing. My thing generally involved heavy lifting, projectiles, and combustibles.

Romanov took Banner to the lab and Fury excused himself, leaving me with Steve and Coulson.

There was a long, awkward silence. Coulson kept glancing over at Steve, half as if he expected him to disappear if he looked away for too long.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and decided to have a little fun.

"Hey, Coulson," I began, cheerily. "Romanov and I were just telling Steve about your trading cards. I bet if you asked him nicely, he'd even sign them for you!"

"Bridget-"

"Benson-"

The warning tones in their voices harmonized nicely and I grinned unapologetically at the pair of them as they glanced at each other.

"I'm sure the Captain has better things to do…" Coulson trailed off.

Steve sighed. "No… I mean… I wouldn't mind…"

"If it's not too much trouble…" Coulson replied.

"No. No. It's fine."

I rolled my eyes. The two men were just too polite for words.

"It's a vintage set," Coulson said, proudly. "It took me a couple of years to collect them all. Near mint, slight foxing around the edges, but..."

"We got a hit!" a voice called across the room. I looked over to see that it was Sitwell. That meant that Kate had to be around somewhere, as well. "Sixty-seven percent match. Wait… cross match, seventy-nine percent," he continued as we approached.

"Location?" Coulson asked.

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse," Sitwell told us. "He's not exactly hiding."

"Captain," Fury called from the level above, causing us to look up sharply. "You're up."

* * *

><p>Romanov piloted the jet. I argued with her over it, but lost when she pointed out that my concentration might be needed elsewhere. Thus, I sat, pouting, in one of the passengers' seats with Steve.<p>

I was having a hard time concentrating from there, too. Steve, normally, was a distraction enough, but Steve in full Captain America gear?

_God bless Coulson_, I thought, as I subtly checked out Steve's figure, revealed through the skin tight uniform. I took back what I said about Coulson's fashion sense. That man deserved a medal.

We dropped Steve off a short, discrete, distance away from where Loki was, so that he could approach more subtly. While we waited, watching the monitors, Romanov spoke.

"Clint spoke about you," she said.

I turned to her in surprise. "He did?"

She nodded, not taking her eyes off the screen. "You're very much alike, you and him," she commented. "Probably why you get along so well."

I took in this information. "You seem close," I remarked, not sure if I was overstepping.

Romanov's eyes dropped, before boring into the monitor once more. "I owe that man more than I can ever repay."

There was a moments silence before she spoke again. "Here we go."

I glanced at the screen to see Steve standing in the crowd, between an elderly man and Loki, in full Asgardian battle wear. We got there within seconds and Romanov spoke over the PA.

"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down."

Loki did not seem to appreciate this. He sent a bolt of energy at us, which Romanov had to quickly dodge. When we righted again I could see Steve fighting with Loki.

"Drop me," I instructed Romanov.

"Oh hell no," she replied. "I know what happened at NASA. I am not going to explain to Coulson why I had to scrape up bits of you from a German sidewalk when Loki overloads you again."

"That wasn't Loki! That was the Tesseract!" I argued.

"And what if he has it on him?" she argued back.

Suddenly, AC/DC's 'Shoot to Thrill' blared out of the speaker system.

"Hey, Agent Romanov, Agent Benson," Tony Stark's voice greeted. "Miss me?"

We look back to the action to see Iron Man land in front of Loki, aiming his weapons at him steadily.

"If I started a "Tony Stark is a Gigantic Douche, Even When He's Doing Good" club, would you join?" I asked Romanov.

"We'd have to come up with a shorter name," she replied.

"Dude, we work for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division," I pointed out.

"We'd have to come up with a better acronym," she amended.

* * *

><p>"Said anything?" Fury spoke over our comms.<p>

"Not a word," Romanov replied, glancing back at our Asgardian prisoner, who was under Steve and Stark's watchful eyes.

"Just get him here," Fury went on. "We're getting low on time."

I glanced at the sky, full of dark clouds. They looked kind of ominous.

I could hear Steve and Stark bickering in the back and was just about to turn around and tell them to stop when lightning nearly hits the jet, thunder rumbling almost simultaneously.

"Where's this coming from?" Romanov grumbled as thunder rumbled overhead. Loki stared out the window intently.

"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" Steve asked him.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows," he returned.

Before any of us could think, the door was ripped open; a figure grabbed Loki and disappeared.

"Now there's that guy," Stark commented, putting his helmet back on.

"Another Asgardian?" I asked. I didn't see his face.

"Think the guy's a friendly?" Steve asked.

"Doesn't matter," Tony replied. "If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost." He turned and prepared to jump off the jet to chase after the pair.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Steve insisted.

Stark looked back. "I have a plan. Attack." He jumped out of the jet.

Steve grabbed a parachute, putting it on quickly.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Romanov warned.

"I don't see how I can," Steve replied, adjusting the straps.

"These guys come from legends, they're basically gods," she told him.

Steve glanced towards us. "There's only one God, ma'am. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." He turned to the door.

"Steve!" I couldn't help myself. It just came out. He looked over to me. "Don't die," I finished. He smiled slightly, nodding, before following Stark off of the plane.

* * *

><p>The flight back to the Helicarrier was a tense one. Thor sat next to Loki, who looked like a petulant teenager next to his larger brother.<p>

"It's nice to meet you again," I told Thor.

Thor looked at me. "Indeed," he murmured. "I hope you have been well, Daughter of Ben."

Stark choked on a laugh from the other side of Loki. I shot him a Look.

"It's Ben_son_," I told Thor.

He looked confused. "But that is a name for a man…" he began.

"Nowadays we use the same family name for all members of the family, regardless of gender," I informed him.

"Ah." Thor seemed to chew this over. "So if you were to have a daughter, she would also be Benson?" he asked.

I nodded. "Well, unless I chose to give her her father's name," I informed him. "That is usually the case. And women usually choose to take the family name of their husbands when they marry."

Thor looked slightly confused, so I chose to give him an example.

"Say I married Captain Rogers," I said, gesturing to Steve who was sitting next to me. "I would choose to take his name and become Agent Rogers instead of Agent Benson, and any children we have would have the family name of Rogers." I looked to Steve whose eyebrows were raised in slight shock. "What? I'm a traditionalist."

"We're coming in for a landing," Romanov interrupted us.

* * *

><p>We watched Fury confront Loki on monitors from the conference table on the upper bridge level. Steve, Romanov and I watched from our seats around the conference table. Banner paced while watching. Thor didn't watch; he just listened.<p>

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Banner said, sardonically.

"Loki's gonna drag this out," Steve sighed from his seat at the table. "So, Thor, what's his play?"

"He has an army called the Chitauri," Thor began, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he spoke. "They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

I saw Hill approach while Thor was speaking. She folded her arms, and stood watching.

"An army? From outer space?" Steve stated.

"I wish I could say that was the craziest thing that's happened in the last seventy years," I told him. "But that would probably be a lie."

"So he's building another portal," Banner said half to himself. "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

"Selvig?" Thor questioned, alarmed. Crap. I had forgotten to inform Thor about that.

"He's an astrophysicist," Banner said.

"He's a friend," Thor informed him.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours," Romanov said, leaning forward.

My head dropped as I thought about Clint and I saw Steve look at me, concernedly from the corner of my eye.

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him," he said, rubbing his fingers over his head. "He's not leading an army from here."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Banner reasoned. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him."

I stifled my snort at the description when Thor stiffened, pointing at Banner. "Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother."

"He killed eighty people in two days," Romanov deadpanned.

"He's adopted?"

Banner changed the subject, thankfully. "Iridium. What do they need the Iridium for?" he asked.

"It's a stabilizing agent," came Stark's voice.

We all looked over to see him approaching from the corridor, flanked by Coulson. He murmured something to Coulson we couldn't hear before continuing. "It means the portal won't collapse in on itself like it did before."

I remembered the devastation the first portal created at NASA. Stabilizing seemed like the best course of action for them to take.

"Also," he continued , stepping up to the main part of the bridge, where Fury held command, "It means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants." Stark addressed the crew around him casually. "Uh, raise the mid-mast, ship the top sails." He paused. "That man is playing Galaga." He pointed at the offending Agent. I saw Steve look over, curiously. "Thought we wouldn't notice. But we did." He adjusted his jacket as he stood at the station. He then paused, looking at the screens on his right and left. He put his hand over his left eye and then turns to Hill. "How does Fury even see these?"

"He turns," she stated.

"Sounds exhausting," he replied. He messed around with the monitors while he spoke. "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" I asked. That wasn't in the list of degrees Stark had that I remembered from my briefing packet on him last year.

"Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers." We all looked at him blankly. "Am I the only one who did the reading?"

Steve leant forward. "Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?"

"He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier," Banner explained.

Stark nodded. "Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect."

Banner started pacing again. "Well, if he could do that he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet."

"Finally, someone who speaks English!" Stark exclaimed.

Steve looked between the two of them, before turning to me. "Is that what just happened?"

"I don't know what that was," I admitted. "But I'm not sure it was an Earth language."

Stark reached out to shake Banner's hand. "It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

Banner took Stark's hand, gingerly. "Thanks."

"Dr. Banner is only here," Fury began, entering the Bridge, "to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him."

"Let's start with that stick of his," Steve suggested. "It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."

Fury shrugged "I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkeys? I do not understand," Thor frowned.

"I do!" Steve exclaimed, excitedly. He then glanced at me, apologetically. "I understood that reference."

Stark rolled his eyes, turning to Banner. "Shall we play, doctor?"

"Let's play some," he agreed.

I watched them, warily. "Anyone else got a bad feeling about allowing the two of them to do any sort of Science together?"


	9. Chaos

_I hate the chunk of text I had to use from The Avengers, but it was necessary. _

_The confrontation in this chapter is another one of those scenes I had in mind since the beginning and helped shape this story. Longest chapter so far!_

_Also, this is the single biggest story I have ever written in my life. I have such a short attention span that I barely get out of the planning stages before I lose interest, most of the time. But I love writing this so much. As I post this chapter, I have almost 30k words in total. That's just mind boggling to me and I am so proud. I hope you are all enjoying this story as much as I am enjoying writing it!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

**Chaos**

I saw Steve walk out of the lab, the look on his face equal parts irritated and thinking, just as I was about to enter.

"Hey," I greeted. "You okay?"

He huffed. "Tony Stark is one of the most infuriating men I have ever met in my life, and I knew his father."

I sighed. "What did he do?" I felt like Stark was an errant child I had to go scold for not playing nice with the other kids.

"Nothing." Steve looked away. He then hesitated. "You should probably know that he's hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D. right now."

I groaned. "I swear... I will put that man in a time out." I looked to the door of the lab. "I should probably go sort this out."

Steve nodded. "Sure. I have... things to do."

"Okay," I replied, curiously. "Oh and, by the way," I spoke, turning around as he started walking away. "If you wanna join mine and Romanov's 'Tony Stark is a Gigantic Douche' club, there is a Treasurer position available."

"Better make it Secretary," he called over his shoulder. "I'm no good with numbers."

I laughed as I walked towards the lab door, activating my comm and telling Fury what Steve had told me.

The door opened and Stark and Banner both looked up when I came in. I folded my arms across my chest and looked at Stark, eyebrow raised.

"Oh man," he said, exchanging glances with Banner. "Rogers told Mom on us. That's it. We're not inviting him to play no more."

I frowned. "Why am I the mom in this scenario?"

"Reasons," Stark said, flippantly, turning back to the screen. "Blueberry?" he asked, offering them to me without looking away from the monitor.

"Ooh!" I grabbed the whole bag and hoisted myself up on the table, sitting cross legged on top of it.

"Hey!" Stark complained. "Rude!"

"You're illegally hacking into a government agency's servers whilst being a guest of said government agency," I pointed out. "I don't think you can lecture me on being rude."

Banner chuckled and Stark huffed. "I liked you better when you were all professional and less talk-backy." He looks around. "Where's Agent, anyway? I thought the two of you were attached at the hip."

"Coulson? He's my SO. I'm nearing the end of my training period, though, so I've been given more freedom lately. Few more months and I might be given my own missions to run." I looked forward to this.

"Ooh," Stark deadpanned. "Exciting." He messed with the screen a little, before looking at me. "Why are you just sitting there, anyway?" he asked. "I thought you were an Agent. Shouldn't you be stopping me hacking into the servers or something?"

I shrugged. "I know nothing about technology, other than how to point and shoot with it. I may cause something to break or accidentally upload a virus or something." Stark raised an eyebrow. "That's my story and I'm sticking to it," I said, defensively.

"Uh-huh." Stark messed with the computers again. "What's with you and the Capsicle, anyway?"

"Capsicle?" I asked, popping another few blueberries in my mouth.

"Part Captain, part Popsicle. Capsicle." Stark grinned to himself.

I rolled my eyes. "Steve's a friend. He woke up in the future with no one. I didn't want him to be alone. We started hanging out. I taught him some history, he bought me some cake. It was the start of a beautiful friendship. I…" I trailed off. "I seriously think of him as my best friend right now."

Stark shared a glance with Banner. "Are you sure that's all he is?"

I narrowed my eyes. "What do you mean?" I asked, not sure I was going to like the answer.

Stark shrugged, switching places with Banner as he came over and strolled over to a different monitor, tapping away at the screen.

"You're just very cozy is all," Stark commented. "And when you mentioned being hypothetically married to him, Rogers almost choked on his own tongue. I bet he's off somewhere now naming all of your hypothetical children."

I rolled my eyes, but I could feel my cheeks burn. "Don't be ridiculous, Stark."

"Hey, I just call 'em as I see 'em," Stark replied, nonchalantly.

I was about to retort when Fury walked into the lab.

"What are you doing, Mr. Stark?" he demanded.

"Uh...kind of been wondering the same thing about you," Stark replied.

"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract," Fury pointed out. He turned to me. "And what are you doing, Benson?"

"Umm…" I began, uncomfortably. "Supervising?"

Luckily, I was saved when Banner interrupted.

"We are looking for the Tesseract," he informed Fury, gesturing to one of the monitors. "The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile."

"And you'll get your cube back. No muss, no fuss," Stark added. Something then popped up on his screen. "Umm… What is Phase Two?"

I frowned. I'd only heard about Phase Two very briefly when Fury and Hill were talking at the NASA facility. It was important enough that he wanted her to make sure that they got out of the building. But it wasn't my place to ask. I didn't have the clearance level to know.

Suddenly Steve burst in and threw a weapon down on the table.

"Phase Two is S.H.I.E.L.D. uses the cube to make weapons," he stated, angrily. He turned to Stark. "Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow."

Fury glared at Steve. "Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're..."

"I'm sorry, Nick," Stark interrupted, moving the computer screen towards Fury. On the monitor were various plans for weapons. "What were you saying?"

Steve looked to me. "Did you know about this?" he asked, accusingly.

I blinked, startled. "Of course not!"

At that moment, Thor and Romanov walked into the lab. Romanov kept her eyes right on Banner. Banner looks at her, pissed.

"And you?" he accused. "Did you know about this?"

Romanov crossed her arms. "You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?"

"I was in Calcutta," he pointed out. "I was pretty well removed. But I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

Fury pointed at Thor. "Because of him."

"Me?" Thor asked, stunned.

Fury started pacing. I became painfully aware that I was still sitting cross-legged on the table with my hand in a bag of blueberries. This seemed highly inappropriate for the time, so I took my hand out of the bag wiped it on my pants, and got up off the table.

"Last year," Fury began. "Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."

Thor looked confused. "My people want nothing but peace with your planet."

Fury started him down. "But you're not the only people out there, are you? And, you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled."

Steve scoffed. "Like you controlled the cube?"

Thor stepped towards Fury. "You're work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is the signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war."

"A higher form?" I asked, alarmed.

"You forced our hand," Fury argued. "We had to come up with something."

"A nuclear deterrent," Stark cut him off. "'Cause that always calms everything right down."

Then, everyone started to talk over each other.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?"

"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep..."

"Wait! Wait! Hold on! How is this now about me?"

"I'm sorry, isn't everything?"

"It's like working with children, I swear to God!"

"I thought humans were more evolved than this."

"Excuse me, did WE come to YOUR planet and blow stuff up?"

"What is it about me that bothers you?"

"Did you always give your champions such mistrust?"

"Are you all really that naïve? S.H.I.E.L.D monitors potential threats."

"Captain America is on the threat potential watch list?"

"We all are."

"You're on that list? Are you above or below angry bees?"

"I swear to God, Stark, one more crack..."

"Threatening! I feel threatened!"

"Show some respect!"

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos."

Banner crossed his arms. "It's his M.O., isn't it? I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, no. We're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're... we're a time-bomb."

"You need to step away," Fury warned.

Stark put his arm around Steve. "Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" he asked, stubbornly.

Steve pushed Stark off, angrily. "You know damn well why! Back off!"

Stark turned to face Steve, sizing him up. "Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me."

Steve stepped closer to Stark, looking down the end of his nose at the shorter man. "Big man in a suit of armor," he said, mockingly. "Take that off, what are you?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist," Stark said, without missing a beat.

I met Romanov's gaze. She shrugged, as if to say, _eh, he's got a point._

Steve continued to stare Stark down. "I know guys with none of that worth ten of you." He cocked his head. "Yeah, I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire," Stark responded.

Steve smiled, humorlessly. I hadn't really seen this side of Steve before. "Always a way out..." he mocked. "You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

This must have touched a nerve. Stark looked rattled. "A hero? Like you?" he spat. "You're a lab rat, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle!"

At this point, I had had enough.

"Okay, now you need to back off!" I ordered, pushing my way between the two of them.

"Stay out of this, Benson," Stark bit out. "This has nothing to do with you."

"You need to be taken down a peg or five, Stark," I growled. "The media may think you're special, but we all know that, deep down, you're just another high functioning alcoholic with Daddy issues the size of Long Island. You just had the luck to be born Tony Stark and you think that makes you better than anyone else, but, newsflash! It doesn't! Steve is a better man than you could ever hope to be and that eats you up doesn't it? Knowing that you could never hope to live up to the man that your father idolized."

Stark angrily stepped towards me, but Steve was in front of me in a flash.

"Oh no you don't," he warned. "Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds."

Stark narrowed his eyes. "Protecting your girlfriend, Captain?" His eyes flicked between the two of us. "How White Knight."

"What are you talking about?" Steve asked, defensively.

Stark scoffed. "Please," he began. "You're fooling no one. How long did it take before you started screwing?" He looked at me. "Was he defrosted for a whole twenty four hours or did you make sure he knew who the President was first?"

Steve was seething with anger, and I wasn't far behind him.

Thor laughed. "You people are so petty... and tiny."

"Yeah," Banner said, sarcastically. "This is a team…"

Fury looked at Banner, warily. "Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his..."

"Where?" Banner interrupted. "You rented my room."

"The cell was just in case..."

"In case you needed to kill me, but you can't! I know! I tried!"

The room fell silent. We all looked at Banner, who looked Fury in the eye for a few moments, before looking down. "I got low. I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out." He looked up at us again, getting more and more upset as he continued. "So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk!"

Banner looked Romanov in the eye. The assassin looked unnerved, which was rather impressive, for her. "You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanov?" Banner asked. "You wanna know how I stay calm?"

As he spoke, his hand reached back and picked up the scepter from the table behind him. As one, Fury, Romanov, and I all slowly reached for our guns.

"Doctor Banner..." Steve began, calmly. "Put down the scepter."

Banner looked down at the scepter in his hand as if he had no idea how it got there. Just then, the computer beeped, indicating the Tesseract had been located.

"Got it," Stark commented.

Banner put down the scepter and walked over to the computer.

"Sorry, kids," he said. "You don't get to see my little party trick after all."

Romanov and I stepped closer to Banner by silent agreement. We weren't entirely convinced that Banner was emotionally stable and we were the most likely to calm him down if an incident occurred.

Thor looked around. "You have located the Tesseract?"

"I can get there faster," said Stark.

Steve narrowed his eyes. "Look, all of us..."

Thor interrupted him. "The Tesseract belongs on Asgard; no human is a match for it."

Stark turned to leave, but Steve stopped him. "You're not going alone!"

Stark tilted his head, looking at Steve, challengingly. "You gonna stop me?"

"Put on the suit," Steve replied. "Let's find out."

"I'm not afraid to hit an old man," Stark commented.

"Put on the suit." At this point, Steve and Stark were almost nose to nose, even with the height difference.

At that moment, Banner stiffened, looking at the monitor. "Oh, my God!"

There is an explosion. It happened so suddenly that I didn't have time to react. The floor crumples underneath us and Banner, Romanov, and I were plunged into the floor below.

The breath is knocked out of me as I hit the floor and I see dark spots cover my vision for a few moments. I groan for a few moments as I try to sit up, my back protesting against the movement. I see Romanov across from me, lying on her stomach. Her head comes up to meet my gaze, pain briefly settling across her features. As my vision cleared, I recognized that we had landed in the equipment room.

"Romanov! Benson!" Fury's voice calls in my ear.

"We're okay!" Romanov and I both spoke at the same time.

Just then, there was a groan and we looked over to see Banner writhing in pain. His head turned towards us and we saw that his eyes had turned green.

"We're okay, right?" I asked Romanov, beginning to panic.

Romanov started to struggle and I saw that her leg was trapped under some pipe that had fallen on top of her.

"Doctor... Bruce, you gotta fight it," she said, soothingly. I wrapped a field around the pipe and slowly lifted it off of her leg, trying not to cause any damage, either to her leg or to the structure of the space we were in. "This is just what Loki wants," she continued. "We're gonna be okay. Listen to me."

Two agents came around the corner, probably looking to help but that did not seem like the best idea at that moment, so I frantically waved them away as Romanov continued to speak cautiously to Banner.

"We're gonna be okay. Right? I swear on my life I will get you out of this, you will walk away and never..."

"Your life?" Banner spat, bitter amusement, laced with a threatening undertone.

Another explosion rocked the Helicarrier and that seemed to tip the iceberg. Banner turned his face towards us as he transformed.

"Bruce?" Romanov pleaded as Banner – The Hulk – stumbled off to the side and punched something metal that I hoped wasn't important.

Romanov and I both scrambled to our feet, not daring to take our eyes off the Hulk. He turned to look at us with a sneer and, without a word, we both dashed for the stairs behind us. I got there first and sprinted up, taking them two at a time as the Hulk started dashing towards us. I had just reached the top as the Hulk pulled the stairs out from under us. I turned, ready to catch Romanov, but she didn't need it, I noticed, as she jumped for the railing and swung herself up.

We didn't have time to catch our breath. We ran across the walkway as fast as we could, the Hulk trying to pull the floor from under us as we ran. Romanov jumped over another railing and ducked under a pipe and I followed, trusting her self-preservation instincts.

We found ourselves in some sort of maze of pipes, electrical stuff and… other electrical stuff. It looked like what I imagined the inside of Stark's head was like.

We couldn't hear the Hulk anymore, but we knew better than to think we had lost him. Romanov turned to me and held a finger to her lips. I nodded to show that I understood and we crept, silently, using the metal contraptions everywhere for cover.

We heard heavy footsteps and we simultaneously drew our guns. I could see the sheen of sweat across Romanov's face as the light caught her and knew I must look similarly.

We got to our feet as silently as we could and made for the exit, firearms at the ready.

Hulk surprised us by roaring less than three feet away and I was shocked that something that big could be quiet enough to surprise two highly trained agents, one of them being Romanov.

Romanov took a shot and for a second I was worried that she had shot the Hulk and made him angrier, but instead she had shot the pipe above him, blowing steam in his face and allowing us a few seconds to run, which we did.

Hulk followed us, the narrow spaces not a concern for him as he destroyed walls and ceilings as he came crashing through.

He caught up enough to deliver a hit, and, as had happened when Clint had interrupted during training, I felt the meaty fist coming my way before it hit and formed a field before I was even aware I was doing it.

Unfortunately, the hit was still strong, and my field was not sturdy enough too just deflect it. It still took most of the force, but the hit forced me into the air and tumbling into Romanov.

We tried to pick ourselves up, but our arms and legs were tangled together and we had the wind knocked out of us. We managed to turn around to face Hulk as he came bearing down on us, arm raised as if to deliver a backhand.

Luckily an object came flying through the air, smashing a hole in the wall as it forced the Hulk through the opposite wall.

Romanov and I slumped in relief, taking a moment to assess our injuries. I almost certainly had at least one cracked rib and a twisted shoulder. I could still move it, though, so that was good. I was gonna have a ridiculous bruise on my face for several days, though, which was less good.

Suddenly, the Helicarrier lurched, leaning to one side.

"It's Barton," Fury's voice came over the comms. I looked to Romanov. "He took out our systems. He's heading to the detention level. Does anybody copy?"

Romanov met my gaze as she activated her comm. "This is Agent Romanov," she said, as steadily as she could manage. "I copy."

She got gingerly to her feet.

"Romanov, let me…" I began.

She turned to me. "No." She shot me down immediately. "This is something I have to do by myself."

I sighed, nodding. She dashed off towards the detention level. I activated my comm. "Director?" I asked. "Where do you need me?"

"Assist Coulson locking down the detention level," he ordered.

"Copy," I replied, dashing off.

* * *

><p>I was too late. By the time I got there, Loki was gone, the cage was gone, and Coulson…<p>

God.

Coulson was slumped against the wall, holding one of the phase two weapons, eyes glazed.

"Coulson?" I panicked, dropping to my knees beside him. "Oh God." I tried to press my hands to his wound, applying pressure, but from what I could see from the blood on the wall behind him, the wound went all the way through. Applying pressure wasn't going to work. "I need a med team to the detention level!" I called over my comm.

He turned his head to face me.

"Hey Benson," he said tiredly, breathing labored. "I need you to do something for me."

"Anything," I promised, tearily. "You know that."

"Take care of Clint for me," he ordered.

I could feel a sob rolling up my body. "Don't talk like that, Coulson. You are not going to die."

He smiled gently at me. "I don't think you get a say in that."

"Coulson," I pleaded. "Please don't leave me." I was fully sobbing now, I couldn't help myself. I hid my face in his right shoulder and his hand came up to tangle itself in my hair.

There was a clamor by the door and I looked up to see Fury dashing into the room.

"Sorry boss," Coulson said as Fury knelt on his other side. "The god rabbited."

"Just stay awake," Fury ordered. "Eyes on me!"

Coulson shook his head minutely. "I'm clocking out, here."

Tears rolled unchecked down my face and I gripped the hand Coulson had previously had in my hair.

"Not an option," Fury told him.

"It's okay, boss," Coulson replied, tiredly. "This was never going to work... if they didn't have something... to..."

Coulson looks away, unseeing and his chest falls for the last time.

The med team choose this moment to appear and Fury and I stand back to let them work. I am shaking uncontrollably and Fury doesn't seem to know what to do.

After several minutes, one of the med team turns to us and shakes his head. My hand covers my mouth as I try to hold in a sob. I can't break down right now. I can't. Loki is God knows where and Clint and Romanov are off somewhere having a showdown and as far as I knew, the Helicarrier was still falling from the sky.

"Agent Coulson is down," Fury said over the comms.

An agent replied. "Paramedics are on their way…"

"They're here," Fury cut him off. "They called it."


	10. Invasion

_Okay, I'm not the best at fight scenes, but I tried my best! And I thought, originally, that The Avengers would take up two chapters, maybe 6000 words. 4 chapters and over 12k words… Not that much over, really…_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

**Invasion**

Fury took care of Coulson. I left the room, needing to just get away, and leaned against the wall outside.

"Romanov?" I spoke over the comm.

"I got him," came the reply.

"Alive?" I asked, hoping for the right answer.

"Yes."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Fury appeared beside me.

"Get Rogers and Stark," he ordered. "And bring them to the bridge."

"Yes sir," I agreed.

* * *

><p>Steve and Stark sat, slumped at the conference table. I leaned against the wall to the side while Fury strolled in and threw something across the table.<p>

Upon closer inspection, I could see that they were Coulson's Captain America trading cards.

Bloodstained.

"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket," Fury informed them. I frowned. Coulson would never keep them in his jacket. The only reason they were on the Helicarrier is that he was going to ask Steve to sign them. He was very particular. They were kept in their case in his locker. Fury turned to Steve. "Guess he never did get you to sign them."

I understood what Fury was doing, at that moment. He was doing what Coulson had suggested; giving them something to fight for.

"We're dead in the air up here," he continued, as Steve and Stark both looked down at their hands. "Our communications, location of the cube, Banner, Thor. I got nothing for you. Lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming."

He paused, leaning against the railing. "Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier." He started to walk around the table as he spoke. "There was an idea, Stark knows this, called The Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in heroes."

Stark stood up and walked away, without a word.

"Well," Fury said, watching him leave. "It's an old fashioned notion."

* * *

><p>I went to Romanov's room. I couldn't think of what else to do. But I needed to make sure Clint was okay.<p>

I had promised Coulson.

When I got there, Romanov and Clint were sitting side by side on her bed.

"Hi," I said.

They both looked up.

"Hey, Bridge," Clint murmured.

I nearly knocked him over with the force of my hug. Romanov moved over so that I had more room, which I was grateful for.

I pulled back. "I am so glad you're okay," I told him.

"I'm fine," He promised.

I looked over at Romanov. "Did you tell him about..?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I…" her voice shook slightly. "I was about to."

Clint looked between the two of us. "What's going on?" he asked. "What aren't you telling me?"

I sat down on the other side of Clint and met Romanov's gaze for a moment before she looked away.

"Clint," I began, my voice trembling. I took a deep breath as I tried to get it under control. "Clint… It's Coulson… He…"

Clint's eyes widened. "No…"

He whipped his head around to look at Romanov, as if hoping she would tell him I was lying. She just nodded.

Clint stumbled to his feet. "I… I think I'm gonna…"

He ran to the adjoining bathroom and we could hear him throwing up for several minutes, before we heard running water. Romanov and I just sat there, not even looking at each other, neither of us really knowing what to do at that moment.

The door opened and we turned to see Steve in full uniform. He looked between the two of us.

"Time to go," he instructed.

"Go where?" Romanov asked.

"I'll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?" he asked.

Clint came out of the bathroom, drying his hands on a towel, looking slightly more put together.

"I can," he said.

Steve looked to me and Romanov. Romanov subtly nodded and Steve turned back to Clint. "You got a suit?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Then suit up."

* * *

><p>We all suited up. I returned to my room for a fresh suit as my current one was ripped and dirty, and met Steve, Clint, and Romanov in the lower hangar bay.<p>

"Where's Stark?" I asked.

"He's meeting us there," Steve told me.

I nodded. "Okay. If things get ugly and the alien army manage to break through, there's gonna be a lot of civilians in the way. Let me deal with that."

Steve looked at me, eyebrows raised. "Bridge-?"

"I'm not part of the team, Steve," I told him. "I have Level Five clearance. And I know that I wasn't even considered for the team like Romanov or Clint were. Just… consider me your unofficial/official S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison. Plus, I'm better on defense," I pointed out. "With my powers, I can better protect people. Drop me off at HQ and I can mobilize a team to evacuate the civilians."

"Okay." Steve nodded and we all headed for the jet.

When we walked onto it, the technician who was tinkering with the electronics looked up.

"Hey, you're not authorized to be-!"

Steve looked at him, pityingly. "Son… Just don't."

* * *

><p>HQ was a mess when I got there. Aliens were falling from the sky and everything was absolute chaos. After observing for a few seconds, I crossed to the nearest wall and activated the emergency procedures.<p>

"This is Agent Bridget Benson," I called over the building's speaker systems. "Communications to the Helicarrier and to Director Fury are down. Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow and Hawkeye are on their way to deal with the invasion. Our primary mission at this moment is to protect the civilians. Team leaders join me in conference room three now."

"Excuse me!" A voice shouted. I looked over to see Agent Felix Blake stride towards me. "Just who do you think you are-?"

I turned to face him, eyes fixed with a steely glint.

"I am the agent who has been trained by Phil Coulson for the last two years and just watched him die at the hand of the same being who is leading an alien army against Manhattan. I am also the woman who will not hesitate to shoot you where you really don't want me to shoot you, unless you get out of my way. Does that answer your question?"

Blake wordlessly stepped aside, eyes wide in astonishment. I swept past him and walked swiftly to conference room three.

Most of the team leaders were already there when I got there. When given orders, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents could move fast.

After a few more moments and the entry of three more agents, I began to speak.

"I know that most of you don't know me. I am… was… Phil Coulson's Agent. I know that most of you have been here longer than I have. I also know that most of you either have the same clearance level that I do, or higher. But I also know what is going on. I have a direct line of communication open with the members of the Avengers Initiative. I know I am asking a lot by asking you to follow my lead. But I need you to trust me. We need to get the civilians off the ground and we need to do it now. Are you with me?"

I looked around the room. Everyone is either nodding or looking approving, so I plowed on.

"Okay. First things first. We need to work from Stark tower outwards. That's where the wormhole opened up, so that's where the greatest concentration of hostiles will be. I need two teams to assemble right now and get there."

Two agents stood up and left. I sighed, gratefully. "We need media coverage. We need someone to inform and direct the public to safe zones. Basements and subways. Anywhere underground."

"Covered," an agent called, leaving the room.

"Okay." I looked around the room. "I need a map of Manhattan."

A young, blonde, female agent I hadn't met before got up and operated the controls for the computer, bringing up a 3D hologram of Manhattan above the conference table.

"Okay. Our mission is to save as many civilian lives as possible. We need to get them off the streets and to basements and the subway. Anywhere that isn't accessible to passing gunfire, really. I need teams on 42nd, 57th, and 34th. Someone needs to cover the Lincoln tunnel and Bryant park areas. Then there's Madison Square park and… Fuck. Why is Manhattan so fucking big?" I growled. Agents agreed amongst themselves who was going where and got to it. I was left with a handful of agents and decided to check in with Steve where they were most needed.

"Captain?" I activated my comm. I could see an agent in the corner with wide eyes. This was someone who clearly hadn't believed me when I told them I had a direct line open with the Avengers.

"Bridget?" he responded, sounding strained.

"What's the situation?" I asked. "Where are you?"

"Midtown," he told me, grunting as the sound of gunfire exploded in the background. "Jet was shot down so we're on the ground. Stark is in the air and Thor has engaged Loki. Bridge… there's a huge space whale thing."

"You've got to be shitting me," I breathed. "Okay. The largest concentration still in Midtown?" I asked.

"Yeah, but they seem to be moving out quite fast."

"Okay. I've mobilized the teams. We'll be ready. Where are you right now?" I asked, skimming the map.

"Corner of 45th and Lexington," he replied.

"Okay. I'm coming that way with a team of my own."

"What?" he cried. "Bridget no, it's-"

"If you give me that 'It's too dangerous' crap, Steve Rogers, I swear-" I left the threat open.

Steve sighed. "Okay. But get here fast. There are so many civilians here, Bridge. Grand Central Station is…"

"Shit," I realized. "Yeah, I know. Rush hour and Grand Central Station is a block away from the giant wormhole. Because my life can't ever be easy."

I directed the last few teams to various spots around Midtown and made a call of my own.

"Bridge?" Darren answered very fast. "Bridge, what's going on?"

"No time to explain," I told him. "I need you at 45th and Lexington twenty minutes ago. Bring reinforcements."

"Done," he replied, crisply. "Bridge? Stay safe."

"You too," I replied.

* * *

><p>I met Darren and his team before I saw Steve. His SO, Johnson, was just as severe looking as I remembered. We ducked behind an abandoned car as a Chitauri flew overhead.<p>

I eyed Johnson warily. "You gonna be okay with me taking lead?" I asked.

She looked me over. "You seem to have a decent grasp on the situation," was all she said.

I nodded. "Okay. We need to direct the civilians to the basements and subways. You two," I looked at the other two members of Johnson's team, a man and a woman. "Take that building," I pointed to the left. "And work your way up to 1st Avenue. If the building has no basement, cover the civilians to the nearest subway. You two," I addressed Johnson and Darren. "Do the same on the other side."

"What about you?" Darren asked.

"I'm covering the street," I told him.

"By yourself?" He didn't look too enthusiastic at this.

"No," I said, seeing a red, white, and blue shape somersaulting over several upturned cars about 300 yards away.

Darren saw where I was looking. "Okay, fair enough," he said, getting up and preparing his dash to the building I directed him to.

Once the two pairs had left in opposite directions, I began my clearing of the streets. I grabbed the panicking people trying to run in every direction and shoved them towards the subway, shielding them from fire as we ran.

On my third trip to the subway stop, Steve caught up with me, landing heavily beside me and throwing his shield at a passing Chitauri.

"Fancy meeting you here," I joked, as I shepherded the small group of civilians down the steps to the subway.

"What's a girl like you doing in a battle like this?" Steve returned. I'm sure that if I could have seen his eyebrows beneath the cowl, they would have wiggled.

I laughed, and then shouted "DOWN!" as a Chitauri blasted the space where Steve had been a second before. He pulled himself back up and threw his shield at the Chitauri, knocking it out cold.

"Thanks," he said.

"Anytime," I promised, starting to head off in the opposite direction.

"Bridget…" He stopped me by catching my wrist as I went by him and I turned around, questioningly.

I was met with a firm chest and lips and oh wow Steve Rogers was kissing me and you can bet I kissed him back.

I wasn't sure how it had happened and it certainly wasn't the best place for it, but it was one of the best moments of my entire life.

It was over far too soon, but a Chitauri stumbled across our path and I had to shield us from its blast, breaking away from kiss. Steve dashed around me to take on the Chitauri and I went back to my job, calling over my shoulder.

"Stay safe, Steve!"

* * *

><p>I saw the Avengers take down the huge space whale thing (the name had kind of stuck) from the next block over. The sound the Chitauri made was earsplitting.<p>

The next two huge space whale things that came out of the portal were not a welcome sight.

I carried on with my job, ushering people into basements and subways as best I could, and engaging the Chitauri only when I had to, my priority being defensive.

I was just ushering a small group into a building with a basement when something thudded behind me. I turned to see a fallen Chitauri, who had clearly been trying to catch me from behind, with an arrow sticking out of its neck.

"Thanks, Clint!" I called, over comms.

"You owe me a beer," he replied.

* * *

><p>The next voice I heard over comms was Romanov's.<p>

"I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!"

I leaned against the side of a building, checking the gash on my arm from fallen debris, and took my last glucose tablet.

"Thank fuck for that," I breathed.

"Do it!" Steve answered.

"No wait!" Stark called, panicked.

"Stark! These things are still coming!" Steve argued.

"I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute," Stark informed us. "And I know just where to put it."

A nuke? Oh, shit.

"Stark?" Steve warned. "You know that's a one way trip."

Stark didn't answer, but we knew he heard.

Damn.

I saw Stark, with missile, come flying overhead, and head straight for the portal. I followed his path up until he disappeared through the portal and breathed a sigh of relief. The nuke was taken care of. Stark however…

I watched the portal, waiting for the man to come back through it. When I saw the flash of the nuke exploding, I closed my eyes, sadly. The Chitauri all just… collapsed. It was like they just powered down after they were disconnected from the main ship or something.

"Close it."

It was Steve's voice. I sighed and started heading in the direction of Stark Tower. That's where the rest of the team would be, I knew.

The portal closed with a sound like thunder but I wasn't looking, choosing instead to pick my way through the debris filled street.

"Son of a gun."

I looked up, startled, at Steve's exclamation. I saw a figure falling from the sky at speed.

Stark.

That man has the best luck out of anyone I know.

I realized he wasn't slowing down but he was too far away for me to do anything. I could only watch, helplessly as he fell.

I was about to look away when a green figure came flying towards Stark, catching him.

I was only about two blocks away by this point and I started running.

* * *

><p>I met them, all six of them, at the bottom of Stark Tower, Loki in tow.<p>

I saw the members of the two teams I had sent to Stark tower standing around the street and I waved them over.

"Take Loki to HQ," I told the team leader, Hernandez, I think his name was. "Put him in detention and wait for Fury's orders."

He nodded and stepped towards Loki.

Thor stepped in front of his brother. "Agent Benson, Loki is my responsibility…"

"And we all need food, a shower, and sleep, Thor," I pointed out. "You included. Just, please, let us hold Loki for you until morning. Until we can all think straight?"

Thor was reluctant, but let Hernandez take Loki without any further argument.

I turned back to the team.

"So…" Stark broke the silence. "Shawarma?"


	11. Break

**Chapter 11**

**Break**

After the Shawarma, I stopped by my apartment for a shower and a change of clothes. Kate and Darren weren't back yet, which was good. I wasn't ready to see anyone else yet. I shoved another change of clothes in my bag, just in case. I had a feeling that, after the events of the day, the team may end up crashing, and I didn't really want to be apart from them at this point. I just wanted to hug Steve and crack a joke with Clint and...

Shit. Clint.

I speeded up and shot out of there as quick as possible, running the twelve blocks to Stark tower. I had to flash my S.H.I.E.L.D. ID to get me in the building, but Tony Stark's security then wouldn't let me up. This pissed me off immensely.

I took out my cell phone and made a call.

"Yep?"

"Stark?"

"Agent Benson? Where did you get this number?"

"That's classified. Is Clint Barton up there with you?" I asked impatiently.

"He went to take a shower about twenty minutes ago. Romanov's about ten seconds away from kicking the door down."

"Okay, Stark," I began. "Tell Romanov that I know everything and I will take care of Clint, okay? And tell your security team to let me up. I'm in your lobby."

"You're in the lobby? Hand your cell over to one of them."

I did as I was told and within seconds of speaking to Stark, the security guy straightened and then motioned for the rest of the team to let me through.

"Thanks, Stark," I said, once I'd gotten my cell back.

"No problem," he replied. "And I think after this, you can call me Tony."

"Thanks... Tony."

The elevator took way too long to my impatient mind, but it soon deposited me into the main living area. Tony was sat on a sofa with a glass of whiskey in one hand, tablet in the other. Romanov was pacing back and forth across the room, Banner was asleep on another sofa and Steve stood up from his place on the floor, leaning on the wall, when he saw me.

I accepted the hug gratefully, but pulled away when I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. I wasn't ready to break down yet. I needed to see Clint first.

"Where is he?" I addressed Romanov.

"He's in the guest room just down the hall. He's locked himself in. You know?" she asked me meaningfully.

"I know," I said, nodding. "I caught the show," I continued, remembering that night in Portland.

She choked on a laugh and bid me to follow her. I squeezed Steve's forearm comfortingly, sending him a look that promised explanation soon.

When we got to the door of the guest room, I leant down to be level with the lock. I concentrated, remembering my lock picking lessons. The first field I sent in didn't catch any tumblers, but the second one did. Once I had that one in place, I knew exactly where the others would be, maneuvering them until the lock slid back. I stood up and looked to Romanov.

"Would you give me a minute?" I asked. She looked ready to protest. "I know you care about him, Natasha." I'm not sure why I used her name, but it felt right, so I rolled with it. "But this is about Coulson and he... we both would appreciate the privacy. Just for now." I took a deep breath to collect myself as she nodded in understanding.

I opened the door and stepped through. There was no one in the bedroom, but there was a door ajar and the sound of running water coming in from beyond it, so I assumed that that was the bathroom. I shut the door behind me, dropped my bag on the bed and went across to the other door.

I pushed it open and my heart hurt at what I found. Clint Barton was sat, fully dressed and soaking wet, under the shower spray, hugging his knees and staring straight ahead. I didn't even think about it, I dumped my cell phone on the counter and joined him, fully dressed, under the spray. I sat next to him, thankful that Tony Stark had showers big enough for two people (although for an entirely different purpose, knowing him), and put my arm around his shoulders, tugging gently until his head rested on my shoulder. I ran my hand through his wet hair, softly.

After a few minutes, he broke. I felt the first sob break through him and his arm shot out to grip mine tightly, as if needing some sort of anchor. I turned my body slightly to kneel in front of him, pulling him flush against me in an embrace. He clutched me tightly as the dam broke and he cried. I joined him moments later, feeling everything I had been trying to hold back come forth in the face of Clint's own emotion. We held onto each other tightly as we rode out the tears.

After a while, it could've been minutes, could've been hours, the sobbing receded, but we didn't let go of each other, each needing what the other could give; warmth, comfort, understanding.

"Bridget?" Clint asked, the sound muffled against my shoulder.

"Yeah?" I asked, hoarsely, my throat hurting slightly from the crying.

"Did the shower go off?"

I looked up and saw that we were encased in a force field. I turned it off with a thought and the water came crashing down on us a moment later, making us yelp in surprise and break apart. I stood up, reaching for the towels on the railing, stepping out, wiping my face with one and handing Clint the other as he stood up and turned off the shower.

We looked at each other and giggled briefly. "Sorry," I said. "Sometimes my emotions get the better of my powers..."

He nodded; leaning against the counter, dripping wet, and ran his fingers through his hair, looking every inch like a lost child. I felt for him, so much.

"You get out of those wet things," I ordered, gently. "You got any dry clothes?"

He nodded, gesturing to a folded set of clothes on the counter behind him.

"Okay, you get changed here, I'll get changed in the bedroom," I told him. He nodded and I rubbed his arm, soothingly, as I passed him.

I walked into the bedroom and started stripping my wet clothes off. As I was toweling dry, I had a thought.

"Jarvis?" I called, feeling slightly foolish. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I had been informed about Stark's AI.

"Yes, Agent Benson?" came the disembodied voice.

I felt relieved. "Could you please tell the others that we're both okay?"

"Affirmative, Agent Benson," said Jarvis. "Will you be needing anything else?"

"Not right now Jarvis, thank you." I pulled out my spare clothes from my bag and threw them on, quickly, tying my wet hair back so that it wouldn't wet my dry clothes. I threw my wet clothes into a hamper in the corner of the room, figuring I'd sort it with Stark – Tony, I reminded myself – later. I knocked on the bathroom door.

"Clint?" I called.

He opened the bathroom door, dressed in dry clothes, expression still broken, eyes red and slightly swollen. I pulled him gently to the bed and lay on top of the covers, tugging him to join me until he was laid beside me, facing away and I was spooning him. Someone walking into the room may have gotten the wrong idea, with us in this position, but, right now, it was what we needed; human contact, the knowledge that we were not grieving alone.

"Do you wanna talk?" I asked.

Clint shook his head slightly.

"Do you wanna listen?" He shrugged, almost imperceptibly. I took this for a positive. "I lost my parents when I was eleven years old," I began. "Car accident. I was in the back seat. My powers are the only reason I'm alive right now. My teachers at Xavier's school did their best. Dr Grey-Summers tried her hardest, especially, but when you have an entire school to care for, most of whom don't see their parents for months at a time, there's only so much you can do. Coulson was assigned to be my SO when I was in my last year of training. I didn't know what to make of him at first, so I treated him like I had treated my trainers, with a cool respect and plenty of distance. Until our first mission went south.

"There was an untrained pyro mutant that was emotionally unstable in south Illinois. We were to contain her and sedate her. Her parents were severely distressed and waiting in our van when I went out and managed to get close enough to contain her, she freaked out and it took all my strength to keep her still. I'd stupidly left my glucose in the van and I had Coulson shouting in my ear to get out of there because I was fading and he couldn't get a decent enough shot to sedate, but I shouted back at him that I was going to hold her still until he took the shot because that girl had a family.

"I woke up in medical two days later. Coulson was by my side and as soon as he saw that I was awake he started yelling. Told me that if I wasn't in a hospital bed coming out of a hypoglycemic coma, he probably would've taken a shot at me. He asked me what I thought I was doing. I told him that I needed to make sure that girl got home to her family. He just looked at me and said 'But what about you? What about making sure you got home to yours?' I told him I didn't have a family and he went quiet. I'll always remember what he said next: 'As long as you are my agent, Bridget Benson, you make sure you come home to me. You got that?' And he just left. The nurse said he hadn't left my side longer than 10 minutes for the past two days."

I went quiet. I closed my eyes as I felt the tears come back up. "He left me, Clint. He's gone and I've got no one to come home to now."

Clint turned and caught me as I crumbled, sobbing silently into his chest. When he spoke, his low, quiet voice washed over me.

"It started when I brought in Natasha." He tucked a piece of hair that had come out of the band behind my ear gently. "I thought I was going to get chewed out, fired, memory wiped, all of the above. But Phil... He sat me down and told me to talk. So I did. I told him everything, all my reasons for bringing her in instead of eliminating her. And he listened. He told me he trusted my judgment and he pleaded the case to Fury. I had never had anyone trust me like that before; to listen to what I had to say. I didn't grow up in the best environment. There was never anyone to look out for me, to tell me I was doing the right thing. Phil did. I think every time he asked me for my opinion and then took it into consideration I fell in love with him a little bit more."

He looked at me. I had almost stopped crying by this point. I gazed up at him. "You knew." It wasn't a question.

"Super secret government agents should be more discrete in Portland hotel rooms." I echoed what I said to Coulson what seemed like a lifetime ago but in actuality was only a few days previous and it made my heart hurt.

He laughed and it turned into a choked sob at the end. Within moments, we were at it again, crying and clutching each other. His hand came up to touch my face and he pressed a kiss to my forehead. I glanced at him through my tears. He looked so lost and empty and angry and I didn't know what to do. He placed another kiss on my forehead, one on my cheek and then one on my lips. He pulled away slightly, shocked, then did it again, just a quick press of lips. Before I could say anything, a third one came, longer this time and his hands wandered down my sides.

"Clint," I murmured as he kissed me a fourth time. "Don't"

His hand found my hip and he dug his fingertips in lightly. "Please," he begged. "I need..."

"No, Clint." I brought my hands up to his face, cupping his jaw and used my thumbs to wipe the tears from his cheeks. "You don't want this. It won't make you feel any better. It won't stop the hurt and it won't make you miss him any less. Trust me Clint, okay?"

He bowed his head in acknowledgement and cried silently. I kissed his forehead gently and held him. After several minutes, I called "Jarvis?"

"Yes, Agent Benson?" he answered.

"Could you please ask Agent Romanov to bring a tub of ice cream and three spoons?" I asked.

Clint squeezed me gently, gratefully.

"Of course, Agent Benson."

"Thanks, Jarvis. ...Hey, Jarvis?" I added as an afterthought.

"Yes, Agent Benson?"

"Does Tony have Netflix?"

"Indeed, Agent Benson."

The TV on the wall flicked on, showing the Netflix logo.

"Thanks, Jarvis."

* * *

><p>I left Clint and Natasha curled up together on the bed, asleep, to go find Steve. As I started to get up, a hand grasped my wrist, startling me. I swung my head round and met Natasha's gaze. She mouthed 'thank you' at me, before settling back down to sleep against Clint. I nodded at her. I should've known I wouldn't be able to move without waking her up.<p>

I entered the living area to find Banner still asleep on the sofa and Tony where he had been hours before, looking as if he had never moved; whiskey still in hand. Steve was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey," I greeted, softly, not wanting to wake Banner. Tony looked up.

"Hey, you're alive," he stated. "How was the super secret S.H.I.E.L.D. agents-only love-in session?" he asked.

"Hard," I admitted, honestly. "Where's Steve?"

"Capsicle was ready to drop, so I sent him to bed. Two doors down from Legolas," Tony gestured.

I nodded and started in the direction Tony indicated.

"Everyone's getting the love but me," Tony said, slightly snarkily.

I turned back. "Sorry, Tony. It has been a very long day. Natasha and I are probably the only things keeping Clint together right now. But I just lost the only family I had left and I don't want to be strong for someone else right now. I want Steve to hold me and tell me everything's going to be okay, even though we both know it's not. Is that alright with you?" I asked, sarcastically, holding back tears.

Tony looked startled and nodded, looking down at the floor.

I softened.

"Tony, go to bed. It's late. You'll feel better..."

"I can't," he interrupted. "Pepper will be here in about an hour... I can't... I'll sleep when she..." he stumbled over the words, not looking up from them floor.

I nodded, understanding. I then hesitated. "Tony, what I said… in the lab… I didn't…"

"You didn't say anything that wasn't true, Benson," he murmured into his drink, before finishing the rest of it.

I felt like shit. "Tony…"

He shrugged. "Facts of life, Benson. I'm a high functioning alcoholic and my dad loved Captain America more than he ever loved me. Nobody's denying that." He stood up, turning his back to me and heading over to the bar to pour another drink. "But for the record, I'm sorry about what I said." he said, after a few moments of silence where neither of us knew what to say.

"Thanks." I dithered for another moment before deciding I couldn't wait any longer. "Anyway… Goodnight, Tony."

"Goodnight, Benson."

"Bridget," I corrected. He looked around. "My name is Bridget."

"Huh," he remarked. "I had you pegged for a Kelly or an Amanda..."

I rolled my eyes. "Good night, Tony," I called and went down the corridor to the direction of the room Steve was in.

I opened the door as quietly as I could, but Steve's eyes still shot open as the light from the hallway infiltrated the room.

"Bridge?" he murmured, sleepily.

I moved over to the bed, silently, my eyes asking for permission – for what, I wasn't even sure. Steve, though, pulled the covers back and clasped me tight as I all but collapsed onto the bed. I wasn't even sure I could cry any more tears, but dry sobs wracked my frame and Steve held me through them.

"It's okay," he murmured. "It'll all be okay."

It wouldn't be okay. I knew. He knew. I had told Tony much the same. But hearing it lifted a weight off my chest. Things weren't going to get better overnight, but maybe in the morning, things would look a little brighter.

* * *

><p><em>I'm sorry? This so needed to happen. I did cry as I was writing it and I know people were sad a few chapters back so I'm sorry for making you sad again!<em>


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